Lighting

Relaxing Bedroom Lighting Ideas

In the bedroom you want to have lighting that is soft and relaxing:

A Relaxing Ambiance: Some mood lighting ideas include fitting lights behind the headboard as seen in picture (1), or hooking up your ceiling lights to a dimmer switch lets you control the brightness and the mood. Check out our How to Create a Romantic Bedroom: Pictures, Designs and Decor Ideas post for some cozy lighting and decor ideas.

Some other relaxing lighting ideas include having flameless battery powered candles, or if you want a more whimsical feel – hang up some string lights (2) (The Free Spirit: Bohemian Bedroom Ideas).

Focusing on the Bed: You want to focus the attention to the bed. You can do this by putting a lamp on each side of the bed (either wall or table lamps), creating symmetry (3). These are also ideal for reading in bed.

Ceiling Lights: The most common ceiling lights found in modern homes and bedrooms are recessed lights (4). These lights fit into a drop down ceiling and all of the hardware is hidden away. You’re left with a clean sleek look. Flush mount lighting is when the light fixture sits just below the ceiling and usually has a cover to diffuse the light. And then there is track lighting (where you have 3-5 lights on one track). Usually you will only need one light outlet in the ceiling for these, and you can angle the individual track lights to different areas in the bedroom.

For luxurious and grand master bedroom lighting designs check out cove lighting (5) (6). This is when lights are fitted into the ceiling and bounce light off of the ceiling and back into the room. Another way of fitting cove lighting is to use crown molding as seen in picture (7). Here crown molding is fitted onto the wall a few inches below the ceiling. This allows space for rope lights to be fitted above the crown molding. What you are left with is a wonderful glow of light that spans across the room.

For high ceiling bedrooms some lighting ideas include using pendant light fixtures or a mini chandelier (8) (9). You can easily convert recessed lights to pendant ones without doing any wiring by using a pendant light adapter. These hanging lights just screw into any normal light socket. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

One last ceiling idea to check out are solar tubes. These are tubes that bring daylight through the roof and into the bedroom. Free lighting! There are some versions that will have a light fitted around them so you can use the same fixture at night.

For a beginner’s guide to home lighting design, have a look at my post here: The Simple Guide: Home Lighting Design Basics.

For large bedrooms, using some wall lighting would be ideal: Designer Home Wall Lighting Ideas.

For some kid friendly bedroom lighting ideas and tips, like soft toy night lights and portable battery powered lanterns, have a look at our post here.

March 8, 2013 in Bedroom, Lighting

Kitchen Lighting Ideas Mood Board and Inspiration

Here are the specific areas of the kitchen that need lighting and the types of lights to use.

Over The Sink: The sink area is one place where lighting is often overlooked. Which lighting design ideas and options to use will depend on what you have around the sink. If there are any cabinets overhead then under cabinet lighting will work (see below). The most common solution would be to have ceiling track lights nearby. Since you can angle these lights, have one angled towards the sink. Other ideas include having a pendant light hang down close by as seen in picture (1), and for the daytime a window will bring in sunlight.

Stoves: Most hoods will have lights built into them (2) (3). If there aren’t any an alternative would be to once again angle a track light towards the area. You’ll want the light shining down so that the person cooking doesn’t cast a shadow over the stove.

Cabinet Lighting Ideas: There are under cabinet lights and display lights. Most cabinets will be hung over countertops. So you’ll definitely want to have under cabinet lights – not only to make the kitchen look great, but they light up the counters making it easier to prepare food (4).

Then there are display lights. These are puck lights that are attached to the underside of the shelves inside of the cabinets. These will require wiring, but a quick fix is to have motion sensor battery powered puck lights (found on Amazon), which will turn on when you are looking for things inside of the cabinet.

The Kitchen Island: For specific ideas on this area have a look at our post here (Beautiful Spaces: Kitchen Island Lighting Ideas).

Over the Dinner Table: A great way of lighting up a dinner table would be to have a pendant light hanging down from the ceiling right above the table. A stylish option would be to use a drum light (5).

Kitchen Bar: Here, just like a lot of the areas in a kitchen, you’ll want to bring the light close down to the countertop. Pendant lights would be the best choice (6). You can even find adjustable pendant lights – you pull them down when you want to use them. Take a look at pendant light adapters if you don’t want to do any wiring and electrical work. These are pendant lights that screw into and hang from a normal ceiling light socket (7). An alternative to pendant lighting for a kitchen bar would be to use adjustable track lights.

General Kitchen Lighting Ideas: The ideas above are great for providing localized and focused lighting to areas in the kitchen. For more general and ambient lighting, recessed lights would be the best way to go. These can be used alongside pendant lights, chandeliers, and track lights (8).

Added Features: Dimmer switches would be a great feature to have in a kitchen. You can instantly transform the space from a functional bright work area to a romantic dinner setting.

For a beginner’s guide to home lighting design, have a look at my post here: The Simple Guide: Home Lighting Design Basics.

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February 17, 2013 in Kitchen, Lighting

Beautiful Spaces: Kitchen Island Lighting Ideas

The kitchen island is not just a great place for preparing food, but it can also be used to do paperwork, kid’s homework, or eat and drink from. Because of all of the things you can do here you’ll want to have localized lighting – lights that are focused onto the kitchen island.

The best lighting ideas are the ones that bring the light closer down to the countertop surface. Ideas include a single or multi bulb pendant light as seen in pictures (1) (2) (3), adjustable pendant lighting, or a chandelier that also acts as a pot rack (4). If you already have recessed lights above the kitchen island, then a great way of adding pendant lights without doing any wiring is to use pendant light adapters. These simply screw into any normal ceiling light socket.

Other kitchen island lighting ideas and options include using track lights (the kind where each light can be angled differently (5)) or if you have a plug socket on the island how about using a desk lamp (6). 1/2/3/4/5/6

For lighting ideas for the rest of the kitchen have a look at our post here: Kitchen Lighting Ideas Mood Board and Inspiration.

February 17, 2013 in Kitchen, Lighting

Designer Home Wall Lighting Ideas

You have all sorts of wall lights: from vertical and horizontal wall scones, to lanterns and recessed lights. Choosing which ones to use comes down to which room you are looking to light up.

In the Bedroom: An interior design principle is to design a room so that the focus is on what the room is for. So in the bedroom, you’ll want the focus to be on the bed. You can bring the focus here with wall lights by placing one on each side of the bed as seen in picture (1). Having light switches by the bedside (like in a hotel) would be an added luxury.

The Bathroom: In the bathroom you’ll want to have lights that focus around the mirror (2). The ideal setup is to have one vertical wall sconce on each side of the mirror and one light attached to the wall above shining down. This way you avoid casting shadows on the face – making it easier to groom.

The Kitchen: When it comes to the kitchen there isn’t usually much space for wall lighting ideas because of all of the cabinets. The kind of lighting you want here are under cabinet lights. This brings light closer down to countertops making it easier to prepare and cook food. Another lighting idea is to place rope lights above the cabinets (if there is a gap) for a subtle glow.

Living Room: If you want a space to feel large then you’ll want to use as much ceiling light as possible. On the other hand, using wall lights is a good way of making a large living room feel cozy.

Other light fixture options that can be attached to the walls in a living room include art gallery lights that hang over any framed artwork. If you have bookshelves, then wall lights or lights fitted to the shelves will create an elegant space (3). Another idea is to have a cutaway in a wall and have a light fitted into the top and use this as a display area (4).

Staircases: To help get around safely at night, one lighting idea is to fit modern recessed wall lights at the base of the wall by the steps (5).

Decorative Ideas: Here are some luxurious lighting design options. To add some subtle indirect lighting to a room, have crown molding fitted a few inches below the ceiling. This leaves space for rope lights to sit above and bounce light off of the ceiling and back into the room (7).

Another idea, one more suited for outdoor lighting, is to have recessed lights fitted into the floor that shine up and wash a wall with light. An easier way of doing this is to have a plug in can light or a mood light like the Yantouch Jellyfish pictured (8) sitting on the flooring bathing a wall with light.

Outdoors: When it comes to the outside of the home, the more important places to have wall lights are by the front door and by the garage – Home Style and Safety with Outdoor Security Lighting. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7