Home. It is your temple. It reflects the best of you. It houses your memories, your happiness, your moments and your peace. This is where you are most comfortable, safe and free. And it should reflect as much right from the moment you enter. It is a great idea to use a chandelier to create a layer of ambient light near entrances, this ensures that every time anyone arrives they truly make an entrance! You could perhaps pair that with accent wall lights to add more character in passageways, creating interesting patterns and decorating them with wall art.

We have comprised a list of tips, tricks and guide that tells you how to approach lighting for each room and bring out the most in them.

The Living Room

The living room serves many purposes, so you need a light setup that can deliver on those. Magnetic track lighting that can swivel, move and rotate are often perfect as they can provide ambient, task and accent lighting. They are jacks of all trade and will be perfect for a mid-day read, late evening catchups or a cosy movie night.

Additionally, you can have pendant lights and floor lamps to create more depth in your room. These lights don’t cause shadows or glares creating the perfect ambience that’s not harsh on the eyes.

Some more tips –

• Position table lamps and floor lamps below eye level so you don’t accidentally look at the lightbulb.
• Any pendant used should be at least 7 feet above the floor.
• Keep task lights in areas you frequent to read or do other activities.

The Kitchen

To properly illuminate the most delectable space in your home, you need to apply proper layering of lights. For complete ambient lighting, you can go with recessed ceiling lights that will evenly cast light throughout your space.

Then, you can use accent light to highlight spaces where you may serve food. Go with tasteful pendant lights over an island or undercabinet light for the food prep area.

Thirdly, you want to have task lights over your kitchen workstation, areas where you chop vegetables and prepare food. About 70 to 80 lumens per square foot should keep your station bright and help you avoid any accidents. Go for magnetic track lights or COB downlighters.

Some more tips –

• Use downlighters to highlight your cutlery rack. This will add character to your kitchen.
• Use strip light in the area between the cabinet and the floor. Your toes will be thankful to you during those late-night trips to the kitchen.

The Bathroom

This is one place where you don’t want to have unflattering lighting. Avoid lights pointed directly at the mirror. Instead, you should go for recessed lighting that gives your bathroom a clean glare-free look. Using shaded wall lamps or pendent lights just off-centre also creates a nice ambient wash. You can have wall scones or overhead shaded mirror lamps to light yourself when facing the mirror, bathing you in a uniform illumination. If you have a tub, go for ceiling lights. It will enhance your ambience when having those long luxurious baths.

Some more tips –

• Use strip lights to create a brighter ambience.
• Use low wattage wall washers to accent your washroom. 

The Bedroom

For bedrooms, the ideal lighting should be a mix of ambient and task lighting. But if you have artwork in the room, you might want to throw accent lights into the mix as they do a great job in bringing art to life. Have recessed downlighters with dimmer controls for ambient lights or you can always go for the more regal look of a grand chandelier. But if neither of those match your style you can always go with magnetic track light. They are multi-purpose and great for everything from task lighting to ambient lighting. However, we would also recommend you explore cove lights as well for your ambient lighting needs. It lends its unique personality to the room and look marvellous when paired with focused accent lights like a shaded wall light or pendent.

For activities like reading, writing or working when in the room, have adjustable table lights. These will work great as task lights when you want to get things done. 

Some other tips – 

• Use efficient light sources like LEDs
• Go for direct lighting for desks or vanities.
• Use shaded fixtures for areas where you sit and socialise. This will protect your eyes from direct lighting.
• Avoid using lights directly over the bed.

Use these tips to create a better light design for your home. A smart and thought out light plan can help you bring out the most in your home. At Tisva, we have a huge range of ambient, accent and task lights made specifically for the various needs of a home. You can book a free consultation with our in-house expert who will lead you step by step and help you come up with a perfect lighting solution for your spaces. Book now https://www.lightsbytisva.com/