Lights please: Impress holiday guests with lighting features
The holidays are upon us once again, and the first thing you or your guests will do after stepping inside your home is turn on a light. If your house was built before 1970, chances are that most rooms have a single fixture doing all the work. The result is deep shadows. Lighting renovations can change that by enhancing the personality and performance of any room. This holiday season use lighting to welcome your guests in style, wow them with the unexpected, and comfort them with ease of function.
Define your style
Each room should reflect personality. Is the feel you’re going for elegant or casual, cozy or fresh?
First thing’s first – make a good first impression. The entryway should be welcoming. Entries are popular places for tiered chandeliers, but they may also be lit by whimsical pendants or double sconces flanking a mirror over the console table. If space allows, go for a chandelier or a light sculpture and make your guests’ welcome warm and stunning.
Pendants, pendants, pendants. Not only are pendants trending, but nothing showcases the personality of a room better than a pendant light. Choose a conversational piece such as a one-off industrial pendant that’s been upcycled using a halved metal buoy. Create a causal atmosphere by adding a ball-shaped glass pendant behind a seating area. The choices are limitless.
The line between pendants and chandeliers are beginning to blur, but if there are drops and strands of crystals there can be no dispute. If a freestanding tub is the focal point in your bathroom, a delicate crystal chandelier overtop will add elegance.
The ceiling is the fifth wall of a room. If beautiful, exposed wood beams grace its lines then they should be highlighted. Wood beams feel relaxed with wall scones that focus the light up, but can be made to feel glamourous by using small recessed lights between the beams in combination with pendants and chandeliers.
Elevate a causal dining room into a sophisticated dining experience with an oversized crystal chandelier. Because they are so light and reflective, crystal chandeliers make a big style statement without feeling heavy.
Open floor plans are in, so use small pools of light to add depth to your room and draw people into different spaces within that open plan. Airy minimalist chandeliers are trending, also lending themselves to the open vibe of any room.
Ways to wow
Amp up the visual drama in your home by using light to direct attention. But first, consider the aesthetics of each room – a rock fireplace, a marble countertop, a tiled wall. The more features in your home you can accentuate the better.
In the living room, use track lighting to accent an art collection or a row of small recessed tiltable downlights to highlight a textured wall. Use strip lighting atop cabinetry or built-in shelving. Maybe it’s the fixture itself that’s the work of art you want to highlight. Sculptural fixtures are trendy but also have the timeless nature of any great art.
The bedroom might feature grasscloth wallpaper behind the headboard. If so, use a row of small tiltable downlights to highlight it. Use a floodlight to highlight a fireplace or a piece of furniture.
Refuse traditional measurement strategies for sizing a chandelier or pendant and go big. The drama created by large scale chandeliers and pendants will awe.
Can’t work without it
Above all, lighting needs to function. Task lighting is needed where food is prepped or a book is read, where bills are paid or board games are played. Because it varies room to room, it is imperative to think first how you will use the room before you apply task lighting.
In the kitchen, task lighting should be over countertops as well as the sink. Often there is a dedicated light over the kitchen sink, that and it’s often located under a window for additional natural light. The countertop is generally lit with strip lights or puck lights placed underneath cabinets, helping to better read recipes and safely prepare meals.
For a tiny bathroom, if you have to choose between an overhead fixture and wall-mounted fixtures on the sides of the mirror choose the wall-mounted fixtures. Some consider adding light to either side of the mirror the best improvement you can make to any bathroom. Bright overhead lighting creates shadows and makes skin look washed out – a depressing way to start or end any day.
The bedroom often requires task lighting for reading and in closets. Wall-mounted fixtures with adjustable arms positioned on either side of the bed are perfect for reading (each side should have its own switch). Use sensor-driven strip lights in closets to ensure in those few minutes you have to dress in the morning you choose the black slacks and not the navy ones.
Atmosphere
Lighting is tremendously helpful in creating atmosphere, so if possible, avoid blanket brightness and layer the lighting in your rooms and place all lighting on dimmers. Then you’re ready to flip the switch and enjoy the festivities.
