All about: Home lighting ideas

There are five basic ways or styles to lighting a house, and to correctly light a room, you need to consider which is the correct light needed for that particular area. Altering the light within a room can affect the look and feel, even if the contents and décor remain the same. Read the guide below for home lighting ideas, and how they could alter the look of your home.

General or task lighting

Ambient or general lighting
This is used to effect the lighting design of the entire room, and a good ambient light can be achieved through recessed or track lighting in your walls or ceiling. Older homes that contain wall sconces can be used for this indoor lighting effect, and adding a dimmer switch can further alter the ambience to the general lighting of any room.
Task lighting
Illuminating an area that is designed for a particular task is an important step in using effective lighting. Task lighting should be glare-free so that you can see what you are doing without having to strain your eyes. This could apply whenever you are reading. So, place a lamp off the floor so that it is just above your shoulder whenever you sit down and read. In bathrooms, use fluorescent lights for tasks such as shaving or applying make-up. Spot lights in kitchens can be used in order to highlight the cooking or washing up areas.

Natural light or creating a mood

Accent lighting
Art or sculpture is often illuminated through this type of lighting. Being brighter than ambient lighting, it shines directly onto the object that you wish to illuminate. It can also be used to light walls or your ceiling in order to give an appearance of making a small room look larger or wider. Attaching strip lights to shelf edges or ledges also illuminates or highlights the contents of shelves or display units.
Natural lighting
You can decide how much natural or direct light enters a room not only through windows, but also through open doors or using glass doors and skylights. Net curtains can soften natural light if the sun is strong. Glass blocks or frosted glass in bathrooms allows natural light to enter while still giving one some privacy. Decorative lighting
This includes chandeliers, lamps and candles. These lights do not serve a purpose other than to be decorative, or to add atmosphere or mood to a room. Pieces of art that contain illumination can be another example of the many types of decorative lighting that are available.