subject: Lighting Your Home: Simple Ideas For Kitchen And Living Room Lighting [print this page] Lighting is one of the most important aspects to making your home look beautiful. It is a simple and inexpensive home improvement that can make a world of difference in the look and feel of your living spaces. When remodeling, it is important to include your lighting, and if you are looking for an affordable remodeling idea lighting is a great way to start.
Homeowners tend to under use lighting. They often rely on one or two light fixtures per room, when interior designers and remodeling contractors recommend using many levels of light. Building upon your levels of light is the trick to creating effective lighting in your home. You should have a variety of light sources in each room.
Overall, you should have accent lighting, task lighting, and primary lighting. Accent lighting is lighting that accentuates or highlights an object, form, or texture. Task lighting is lighting used to provide adequate light in areas where you perform tasks like preparing food, reading, or shaving. Typically, hard light is preferable for these types of lighting. Primary lighting is a general source of light that creates an overall ambiance. Usually soft light should be used as your primary source of illumination.
Track lighting, recessed lighting, cove lighting, sconces, chandeliers, and portable lights are just some of the light sources that you can work with. If you use a combination of different lights while balancing hard and soft lighting sources, then you will be well on your way to having luminous living spaces. For example, to create levels of light in a living room, you can use picture lights for framed images on your walls, uplight cans to create a silhouette affect behind your plants, and various portable lights for primary lighting.
In kitchens, pendant lights are highly popular. You can use them over a kitchen island, bar, or nook. Another hot kitchen lighting idea is to add lights inside of decorative niches and cabinets. With cabinets this looks especially beautiful if you have glass cabinet doors. Task lighting in a kitchen is important for your safety, so you should have some form of bright task lighting near prep areas.
These are just a few ideas but in the world of lighting the possibilities are endless. Just remember that multiple light sources are a must, and you will be one step closer to having perfectly lighted rooms.
