Oliwia Whyte 
From home offices to reading nooks, every room requires its own lighting style. Pairing fixture designs with your decor will help achieve a uniform aesthetic throughout your house.
From recessed lighting to wall sconces, there are countless ways to achieve the functionality needed in each space. Here are a few helpful tips to get your started.
Living Room
Living rooms serve as the heart of family life, welcoming family and friends together for gatherings, relaxing with reading or watching TV/movies – so having well-designed lighting options in this space can bring many advantages. From spotlighting artwork with focused downlighting to creating cozy reading nooks with wall sconces – finding suitable living room light fixtures can bring any vision you have into fruition.
To create the ideal atmosphere, begin with an ambient light source such as a flush mount or semi-flush mount ceiling fixture. Next, incorporate accent lighting to highlight family photos, unique design features and more using living room track lights or recessed lighting systems. Finally, fill any remaining gaps with stylish table lamps or floor lamps for an enjoyable lighting scheme in any room.
Dining Room
Dining rooms serve more than just as places for food; they’re often the center of family socialization and offer a cozy and comforting ambience. Furniture and decor play an important part in setting the scene; adding depth and warmth with stunning chandeliers or pendant lights can elevate the whole space.
Shade types should also be carefully considered. Linen shades provide soft ambient lighting while complementing the table and chairs; clear glass offers brighter lighting that focuses on one specific area; while opal glass offers diffused glow that helps reduce glare.
To avoid shadows or overshadowing, choose a fixture at least 30 to 36 inches above the dining table. For added visual interest, opt for cluster of lights or an oversized pendant that hangs together – both options offer modern aesthetics that won’t cast shadows across your tabletop.
Kitchen
Kitchens are at the core of every home and serve as gathering places where family gather, friends host parties and memories are created. As such, this busy area requires careful design that incorporates layers of intentional lighting.
As your first step, it’s essential to determine your overall design style and aesthetic. From farmhouse and traditional designs to more modern options, understanding which design you prefer will narrow down your options when purchasing new fixtures.
As for overhead lighting, take into account your ceiling height when selecting an ideal fixture type. A higher ceiling allows you to install larger pendants or flush mounts; on lower ceilings however, smaller fixtures will need to be chosen instead. When opting for recessed lighting instead, divide your ceiling height in half to determine where you should place them.
Bedroom
As your sanctuary of rest and renewal, the bedroom requires a light scheme designed to set its ambiance. Designers recommend layering ambient, accent, and task lighting in this space for optimal results that serve multiple functions in this multifunctional area.
Ambient lighting provides a comfortable level of illumination throughout an entire room and helps avoid glare. This type of illumination may include pendant lights, ceiling mounted fixtures or even recessed lights.
Accent lighting can add the perfect finishing touches to your bedroom design, whether that means drawing attention to art on the wall or the intricate silhouette of your headboard. Decorative lighting can range from dramatic to whimsical depending on your personal stylistic preference and is easily switched out or moved between areas.
Bathroom
Bathroom lighting should reflect both aesthetics and functionality, creating an upscale spa atmosphere or making the space seem disorganized and outdated. When selecting your fixtures, aesthetics are equally as important. While certain fixtures might set the scene, others could make your space appear out-dated and disorganized.
When selecting bathroom light fixtures, it’s essential that the finish complements both your faucets and other decor pieces for an integrated look. Doing this creates a look that unifies everything together seamlessly.
Ambient bathroom lighting typically comprises diffused fixtures like flush mounts and pendants with dim shades. Side-mounted sconces are an effective means of providing bright direct light that minimizes shadows on grooming sessions; their wide array of finishes and styles ensure there will be something suitable to match any design scheme in a bathroom.
