Lighting Your Home Right

Have you ever gone into a room that just felt good but you couldn’t put your finger on why? It could be the lighting. In a well-lit room, everyone feels relaxed and looks their best. This is why it is important to be considerate of the bulbs and fixtures in your home and how they can create a more inviting environment that encourages people to linger.

LIGHTING MISSTEPS AND CORRECTIONS

• Lighting Misstep: Avoid overly bright overhead lights that can tire the eyes.
• Correction: Install dimmers.
  
  
• Lighting Misstep: Not matching the function of the room.
• Correction: Localize and layer your light sources to focus lighting on the main functions of a room.
  
  
• Lighting Misstep: Using different types and colors of bulbs in the same room.
• Correction: Learn about light bulbs and choose a similar type of bulb throughout a room to avoid different colors and frequencies of light that could make a room feel disjointed.
  
  
• Lighting Misstep: Using lighting at all the same height.
• Correction: Implement lighting at different heights to fill a room with soft light and create better ambiance.

 

LIGHT IT RIGHT – ROOM BY ROOM

Entryway Lighting: The entryway is where your lighting story for your home begins.  Fun and functional lighting like an entry table lamp and overhead light make a great start and set the stage for the rest of the home.

Great Room Lighting: This is a place to put our feet up or have great conversations with friends and family. Add light to your seating areas with table and floor lamps. To draw the eye up to a high or vaulted ceiling, use overhead lights. If the room has standout architectural features highlight them with a spotlight or sconces.

Kitchen Lighting: When lighting a kitchen, it’s about merging style with function. Good overhead lighting and lighting for cutting surfaces is important. One of the most visible forms of kitchen lighting are pendants that hang over islands or peninsulas. You can choose to have them blend in or stand out. A good tip is to match your pendants to the materials on your cabinet hardware.

Dining Room Lighting: In a dining room, the lighting is one of the main focal points. This is the place to splurge on lighting and put up your favorite chandelier, as it will hang at or a little above eye level. Don’t forget to install a dimmer switch in this room to set the mood. Want to tie in the dining room lighting in to your kitchen space? The tip here is to use a material or shape that is cohesive with the kitchen design.

 

Bedroom Lighting: Bedroom lighting starts with overhead light. This could be a pendant, flush, lighted fan or chandelier. Then coordinate your secondary lighting choices like table lamps or sconces by choosing a similar material, color or shape that appears in your overhead lighting.

 

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While touring and selling St. Louis and St. Charles County real estate, The Boehmer Team have seen all kinds of ways that people light their homes. Our favorite tip is to be sure to use the same color and type of lighting within the same room. In other words, don’t make a room disjointed by mixing halogen and LED lights in the same space. Also, don’t forget to utilize natural light to brighten your spaces and save energy. Check out some of our favorite places to shop for home lighting: Houzz.com and Wayfair.com. When you’re ready to sell a home, contact The Boehmer Team to help you stage your home – and its lighting – to make it looks its best so that you get the most value from your home sale.