Lighting is the most common behind-the-scenes hero of home remodeling. Lighting is functional but can do so much more than that: create mood, call attention to design, and illuminate your house. On the topic of home remodeling with Scottsdale remodeling contractors, installing the right lighting fixtures will light up your living spaces and make your dream a reality in sweeter harmony.
Knowing the Three Types of Lighting
Prior to selecting lighting fixtures for your home, it’s important to discover the three key types of lighting. Each serves a different purpose, and a good lighting scheme uses all three to provide a balanced, functional, and inviting home.
Ambient lighting is the foundation. It’s that level of overall lighting within the room. Done usually with ceiling lights, a chandelier, or sconces, this type of lighting simply makes your room lighted through, creating mood in the room.
Task lighting is utilitarian. That harsh light is task-focused and utilitarian to use for makeup, reading, or cooking. It’s generally a pendant light, a reading light, or under-cabinet lighting.
Accent lighting is all about aesthetics. It highlights individual items like decorative walls, paintings, or decorated walls, and it produces dynamic depth and ornamentation. Spotlights and recessed lights are perfect for that.
Learning how to layer lighting’s three modes will allow you to create lighting that will turn your house into a home; not just functional, but also beautiful.
A Room-by-Room Guide to Lighting
Every room in your house has its own particular purpose and its own particular method of being lit. Let’s begin with one room at a time and determine what will be best.
Living Room
Living room is most commonly in the middle of the house, where recreation and enjoyment are the usual routines. Begin with ambient lighting like a hip ceiling fixture or can lights to provide a warm, inviting atmosphere. Position task lights with a floor lamp or table lamp in the room to offer secondary light to read from or use on a board game. Install accent lighting through the means of sconces on walls or LED in the rear of a piece of big art or bookcase.
Kitchen
Kitchens require task light to cook and prepare food as quickly and efficiently as possible. Include ambient light, like flush mount ceiling light, and task lighting to light areas like range and countertops. LED tape installed at the cabinet bottom are a great application here because they emit hot light where it will be used most. Pendants hung above an island or dining space can serve as decorative accent lighting, providing a bit of pizzazz to your kitchen design.
Bedroom
Your bedroom is a sanctuary, so make it first a quiet room. Relaxing, ambient lighting with dimmable light points or table lamps to set mood. Task light at a bedside or in the ceiling for reading or journaling work well. A splash of personality with style-leading accent light such as a pendant light or holiday string lights with restraint.
Bathroom
Atmosphere and function come into play when designing your bathroom lighting. Begin with ambient lighting that is level and bright, such as recessed lights or a ceiling fixture in the center. Task lighting in the space near the vanity must be adequate to illuminate your face during grooming, with the lights to either side of the mirror so that there will be no shadows. Accent lighting, such as LED strips on the bottom of a bathtub, creates a rich and modern atmosphere.
Place Lighting at the Top of Your Remodel To-Do List
Carefully chosen lighting has the ability to make a dramatic impact on the look and feel of your home. From ambient, task, and accent lighting use, to a room-by-room approach for living with the lighting, the right selections can convey all aspects of sophistication to your remodel.
Lighting will need to be planned out early in your project so that your lighting devices will harmonize with the overall appearance and mood of your home. Your home, of course, needs to be presented in the most favorable light.