Lighting your home is not a difficult task, if you know what to look out for.
Good lighting can totally transform your home, making it more cosy and welcoming, highlighting objects or areas of interest and downplaying others.
And the good thing is that lighting is one element of design and decor that can most easily and economically be tailored to reflect your own unique tastes and requirements.
Also note that "good lighting" does not mean having lots of light.
It simply refers to the quality of the lighting you have in place for the appropriate room and/or task.
For example, avoiding glare - you don't want a light source to be so strong that it is painful to look at.
Accent lighting and spotlights can be used to pinpoint areas of specific interest, that you may want to highlight, but the general lighting of a room should be such that it gives a good coverage of light over the entire room, without glare and without leaving parts of the room in shadow.
Unfortunately, lighting tends to be last on the list of things to be attended to when doing a makeover on a home.
Most people spend a lot of time and effort thinking about the style and type of furnishings, carpets and curtains that they would like to have and then they overlook the lighting aspect.
When in fact, good lighting can actually show their homes, and their new curtains, carpets and furnishings to the best effect.
Furthermore, lighting is something that can not only improve the decor ofyour home, but when done right, will ensure you have the proper conditions for watching TV, reading, working on the computer etc.
You can also use lighting to good effect in rooms to set the mood, ie such as in dining areas where a mood of intimacy is preferred.
There are so many different types of lighting fixture to choose from, that it can seem slightly overwhelming for a homeowner who is deciding to make his home warm and comforting.
What do you go for? There are pendant lights, uplighters, downlighters, chandeliers, wall sconces, table lamps, floor lamps, picture lights, spotlights and the list goes on.
Here is a quick overview of what each of these types of lighting can be used for: Pendant lights tend to be the most common form of room lighting and are usually hung in the centre of the room.
Whilst there are many decorative and highly unusual designs in pendant lighting, this type of lighting may need to be complemented by other lighting as well (such as table or floor lamps and sconces etc).
Table, desk, floor lamps belong to the "portable lighting" category and are usually placed in areas where light is needed or for decorative effect.
Wall Sconces are lighting fixtures that are attached to a wall, more commonly on either side of a fireplace but can go pretty much anywhere.
There are many interesting and varied designs available and this type of lighting can be used to great effect as a decorative element as well as for producing a great lighting effect.
Uplighters are tall floor lamps in which the light is reflectedfrom the upper walls and ceiling so as to produce a flow of light to the entire room.
They are quite effective and produce a good quantity and quality of light (which can often be controlled by a dimmer switch on the attachment).
Downlighters provide general lighting to the room, in the same way as pendant lighting does, except that downlighters tend to be hidden and do not protrude (they are ceiling-mounted or ceiling-recessed).
These point downwards and the light is not reflected much on the walls and ceiling which means another form of lighting needs to be used in the room to supplement this.
Spotlights are similar to downlighters in that they can also be ceiling-mounted or ceiling-recessed (or even mounted on a lighting track) but they can also swivel around which means you can direct the light at a particular angle by adjusting the spotlight fitting.