Expert Advice for Choosing Light Fixtures for your Home

Even if you have a beautiful home, using inappropriate lighting fixtures can easily ruin the interiors. Choosing light fixtures for your home, to be honest, isn’t an easy task if you’re serious about it. There are many things you need to consider such as the size of the room, height of the ceiling, the design of the room, exposure to sunlight, the presence of any decorative features, exclusive furniture, and many others.

Photo of a beautiful bathroom with the perfect light fixture

Therefore, to break it down, here are some easy tips to choose the right lighting fixtures for your home.

Types of Light Fixtures for Your Home

Before selecting your fixtures, you need to know the kinds of lighting that are available, and for what purpose are they used.

  • The first is task lighting. You need task lighting in spaces or rooms from where you carry out tasks. These spaces, for example, can be the kitchen, study rooms, dressing areas, etc. Floor lamps, table lamps, pendants, and track lights are ideal for task lighting.
  • The second is accent lighting. Their purpose is for focusing on a particular area or focal points such as sculpture, furniture, paintings, etc. Wall and recessed lights are suitable for accent lighting.
  • The third is ambient lighting. They are used to light up the entire room. Each room should have at least a source of accent lighting. Chandeliers, recessed or track lights, pendants, wall sconces, and wall lights are examples of ambiance lighting.

Living rooms

You can use chandeliers, recessed lighting, or pendant lighting if you have ample space with the right ceiling height. For smaller living rooms, LED flush mount ceiling lights are an excellent choice. You can also go for some stunning floor and table lamps. If you want to highlight specific artwork or decorative pieces you can go for scones.

Bedrooms

Photo of a bedroom with an attractive light fixture on the side table

The ultimate place for relaxation, bedrooms with correct lighting fixtures can enhance your mood and provide a restful environment. You can mix and match pendant lights with table lamps. If you have a dressing table in your room, accent lights are a must.

For the bedroom, it is always advisable that you install a dimmer so that you can set the mood for various moments. For the children’s room, maybe avoid any sort of lamp. They’re more likely to be damaged by the child when playing. Flush-mounted ceiling lights or recessed lighting with dimmer is an ideal choice for the children’s room.

Bathrooms

You’ll need good ambient light for your bathroom. Also, for your mirror task lights will make it easier and more transparent to view yourself. Flush mount ceiling lights are always a good option for general lighting in the bathroom.

Kitchen

Photo of a kitchen with three pendant light fixtures over the island

Since there are no focal points in the kitchen, you’ll need all types of lighting. Task lights can be used on countertops or sink for optimum view.

For your kitchen island, you can opt for accent lighting. You can also choose pendant lighting if there is ceiling height over your kitchen island.

Although you can use chandeliers in the kitchen as well, it is more suitable if the kitchen has extra large space. If not, go for recessed lighting. Even otherwise, the use of chandeliers in the kitchen is becoming less popular.

Dining room

Photo of a classic crystal dining room chandelier

The main focal point in the dining room is the dining table. You can use chandeliers on top of the dining table if you have the ceiling height. Another excellent option is to go for multiple pendant lights across the length of the dining table.

If you want to add some lights around the chandelier, you can opt for recessed lighting.

Entryway

If you have a large entryway, a statement piece can really set the design tone for your home. Choose a chandelier that matches the style you’re setting throughout the home. For smaller spaces, maybe a pendant light or a floor lamp will make more sense.

Tre Pryor, Realtor

Tre Pryor is the leading real estate expert in the city of Louisville. He is a multi-million dollar producer and consistently ranks in the top 1% of Louisville Realtors for homes sold. Tre Pryor has the highest possible rating—5.0 stars on Google—by his clients and is routinely interviewed by the local NBC news. Tre Pryor is a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame.