Lighting is one of the primary aspects to consider when designing a home. While the wrong kind of lighting can make things appear either too gloomy or too stark, a strategic and well thought-out lighting plan has the power to also create ambience, set the mood and highlight favorite features throughout the room. 

Beyond illuminating a space, treating light as a design feature can enhance the overall aesthetic of your home. Whether you are planning lighting for a single room or the entire home, here is how to create a lighting plan that balances form and function in equal measure. 

Basic Lighting Types

The sheer range of beautiful light fixtures available can be overwhelming. A good place to start is by looking at the main functions of different lighting types and how they work in each room. 

General

Fixtures and fittings such as ceiling and wall lights act as the foundational source of illumination in the room. For maximal customization, adding dimmer switches or using Smart lighting allows you to adjust the level of ambience to your liking.

Ambience

Ambience refers to the general mood or atmosphere of a space. For areas like the living room and bedroom, relaxation is the priority. Here, low-light options such as lamps with warm-toned bulbs and string lights can add a cozy feel.

A third type, accent lighting, essentially serves two purposes: the first is to act as a focal point in itself such as by using sculptural, visually-interesting lamp bases or colorful, patterned shades. A second use of accent lighting can be to highlight favorite objects or artwork.

Lighting Considerations, Room By Room

As with other aspects of home decor, lighting design for the home should take into account the intended use of each room and how lighting can be used to fulfil that purpose, as well as aesthetics. This way, you can plan your set-up on a room-by-room basis.

  • Living room: A space for relaxing and entertainment requires a combination of ambient, task and accent lighting to create an ambiance that can be easily customized to your needs.
  • Kitchen: If your kitchen doubles as a dining area, having low light options can be useful, but when cooking and preparing food, bright white color temperatures are preferable for ease of visibility.
  • Dining room: Ambient lighting in dining rooms emulates a relaxing candlelit effect that’s perfect for entertaining or everyday dining. Pendant lighting can act as a centerpiece when suspended above the table. 
  • Workspace: Combining task and ambient lighting in spaces such as home offices enables you to see what you’re working on while avoiding too much eye strain from bright overhead lighting. 
  • Bedroom: The prevailing advice from sleep experts is to keep lights low in the bedroom to avoid overstimulation just before turning in for the night. Bedside lamps and remote adjustable lighting offer adjustable lighting within easy reach.
  • Bathroom: Bright, even lighting can be preferable in bathrooms for general use – but for a more relaxing feel adjustable lighting offers a good alternative when a more relaxing ambiance is required.
  • External areas: While helpful in terms of backyard ambiance and curb appeal, pathway lights, automatic porch lights and other forms of external lighting can also be used for added safety and security. 

Energy Efficiency

Most modern light fittings tend to be energy efficient. If you find a second hand, vintage or antique fitting or fixture, getting an electrician to check it for safety first is crucial to avoid accidents such as electrical fires. They can then adapt the lighting so that it is compliant with current safety standards, while making it more energy efficient.

With other lighting types, try to use LEDs where possible (these have a longer lifespan than traditional lights) as well as energy efficient light bulbs. While these tend to be a little more expensive in the short-term, in the long-run these have lower running costs and last longer in comparison to other lighting methods.

Types of Lighting

Lighting types can be split into two main categories: integral wall and ceiling lighting and standalone plug-in lighting. Different types can be used for a variety of purposes, depending on the level of light they emit and their placement.

Floor Lamps

These can be used as a form of secondary light to a main ceiling fixture, adding low light and ambience when needed. Placed strategically, they can also be used for task lighting or to highlight specific objects or areas of the room. 

Table Lamps

 In smaller spaces adding table lamps offers a similar effect to floor lamps without taking up valuable space. Table lamps share a similar function and structure to floor lamps, but their shorter, squatter bases also come in a variety of attractive designs. 

Ceiling Lights

Available in a variety of designs ranging from pendants to lampshades and chandeliers, ceiling lights effectively act as the centerpiece of a room, and as such should be chosen in alignment with your preferred aesthetic.

Wall Lighting

Wall-mounted lights can be used for task lighting, to create ambiance or to highlight specific items such as framed artwork, as well as to illuminate areas like stairways and hallways.

Light Styling 

Using basic design principles such as space, shape and color can help to maximise the effectiveness of your lighting plan, both aesthetically as well as in terms of function.

  • Space: As with other items in the room (for example furnishings or rugs), it’s important to choose fixtures that are in proportion with its size. 
  • Overall style: Choose lighting styles that complement the overall look of the room, whether you are aiming for a more vintage, “period” style, a minimalist look, or something more eclectic.
  • Color, shape and texture: This can relate to the design of the light itself: shimmering chandeliers, colored lighting and beautiful stained-glass shades all show light can be both pretty and functional.
  • Layout: Consider the type of lighting used in addition to placement. When looking at layout, it’s important to maximise space so that people can move easily through the room. 

Electrical Safety

Drawing up a floor plan before placing your lights can help you to visualize how things will look later on. This is especially important if you are planning on including a more intensive project in your lighting plan, such as a rewiring.

Rewiring tends to be done to update homes with old, faulty wiring systems, but it can also be carried out in order to add more fixtures and fittings where necessary. While many home projects are classed as “DIY” jobs, electrical work should only be carried out by a trained and certified electrician. 

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