When updating our homes, we pay much attention to kitchen countertops and fixtures. But rarely do we consider the transformative effect that creative lighting can have on a home.
“It’s amazing what good lighting can do,” notes a recent Washington Post article. “Besides making you look more attractive, it can be energizing, relaxing or simply illuminating – accentuating a room’s best features, minimizing the unsavory and making your home a more enjoyable living and entertaining space.”
“Lighting is an easy, cheap and simple way of updating the look of virtually any room in your hour,” noted one real estate agent.
When thinking of lighting, the Post suggests homeowners to consider these options:
Fluorescent fixtures. Fluorescent lighting has gotten a bad rap from its overuse years ago. It can, indeed, be harsh, if used incorrectly, but when fixtures are placed out of sight, so that the lighting becomes indirect, it offers appealing light. “Consider fluorescents on top of an armoire, or a tall book case, anywhere the source is unseen,” advises the Post.
Puck lights: These are round, battery-powered LED disks that don’t require wiring. Use them under cabinets and shelves and in dark corners.
Task lighting: Think of the spots in your home that are devoted to specific tasks. Are they well lit? If not, add lighting in closets, over the kitchen counter and above the bathroom mirror to make life easier.
Accent lighting: Are there objects in a room you would like to highlight? Install lights directed at these elements for dramatic impact.
Ambient lighting: This is lighting where the source is invisible or minimized, to add atmosphere to a room. Examples of effective use, notes the Post, include “cove lighting at the top of a wall, or matte-black metal torchieres that simply throw light into a space, or uplights that sit on the floor behind large plants and create shadow patterns across a ceiling.”