Key Factors for Selecting The Right Lighting
Determine what your lighting goals are: Direct or task lighting is focused in the space you are trying to work. Ambient or indirect lighting is used for ambiance and for overall lighting of a space.
Provide lighting for safety and security on the exterior of your home: Walkways, sidewalks, perimeter of your house, and the front entry should be lit with ambient lighting. Too dim of lighting on the exterior is a welcome sign for intruders. While too bright of exterior lighting is costly and disturbing to neighbors.
Use exterior wall sconces for décor: Outdoor lighting doesn’t have to only be utilitarian. Wall sconces can provide washes of light against the exterior walls of your home to create ambiance in the evening hours.
Inside your home use multiple light sources for one space: For rooms like the kitchen, bedrooms, and living spaces, multiple light sources will help you achieve a variety of functions and activities in that space. In the kitchen, under counter lights can provide great task lighting.
For high ceilings and modern décor use recessed lighting: “Can” light fixtures, so called because of the metal recessed “can” that is inserted into the ceiling and the light fixture fits inside.
Types of Lighting
Chandeliers add sparkle and style to your dining room while giving you the general lighting you need for dining and entertaining. Chandeliers are also used in bedrooms, foyers and great rooms. Some chandeliers are designed with down lights to provide task lighting or as accent for table settings. Chandeliers are available in both incandescent and ENERGY STAR® fluorescent light sources. Adding a dimmer control, chandelier shades and chandelier glass lets you alter the intensity of light to suit the mood and activity.
Wall-mounted fixtures typically take the form of sconces that match a chandelier, ceiling fixture or pendant. They can deliver general, task or accent lighting and transform a functional room or hallway into a cozy retreat or dramatic passageway. For most customers, when it really comes down to it, how your wall sconce looks will be the most important factor. You want a wall sconce that will both fit the style of your space and be something you want to look at when you’re in your home.
Pendant Lighting can provide both task and general lighting. Depending on your task and the decorative look you’re trying to achieve, pendant lighting can be perfect for your
home. Equipped with shades or globes to avoid glare, they are typically suspended from the ceiling over dining room tables, game tables, countertops or other work areas. The use of dimmers gives you the flexibility to vary the light to suit the occasion and task.
Recessed Ceiling Fixtures or Can Lights consist of housing installed within the ceiling, a lamp and a small bit of trim to cover the hardware. If you want your lighting to be unobtrusive rather than decorative, this is the way to go. Recessed lighting caneasily provide general, task or accent lighting for large areas.
Track Lighting is versatile and adaptable. It allows you to configure a custom lighting scheme to meet your unique, individual needs. Track lighting is perfect for highlighting artwork, collections or architectural details and it can also provide general or task illumination for an entire room.