Lighting Your Home, Room By Room

Lighting affects the way the home looks and the way it feels to spend time in the home. Good lighting can make the home seem cheerful, inviting and warm. Poor lighting can make the home seem dark and small. Fortunately, good lighting is something that every homeowner can achieve, if they're willing to take the time for home improvement. If you're a homeowner who would like to improve the value of your home, these suggestions can help.

Best Kitchen Lighting

Variety of lighting is very important when lighting the kitchen, because people engage in so many different activities in the kitchen. Task lighting under cabinets helps homeowners when cutting food and reading recipes. Dimmers give people the ability to make the kitchen a more pleasant place to eat with friends and family. Pendant lighting adds a sense of beauty to the space.

Best Living Room Lighting

The living room is a place where natural lighting is very important. Often living rooms have large picture windows to let light in. Unfortunately, sometimes homeowners cover up this source of natural lighting with heavy drapes that darken the room. Replacing heavy drapes with curtains made of light colored cloth encourages daylight to enter the home.

Recessed lighting is also popular in the living room because it's versatile and attractive. With recessed lights installed all over the living room, homeowners can turn on just a few recessed lights at a time, creating cozy "zones" of light in the areas where they plan to spend time.

Best Dining Room Lighting

The dining room is a place where pendant lighting sets a tone and creates ambiance. This is a place where homeowners can get really creative about what type of lighting they install. The classic dining room light fixture is the chandelier, which sets a very formal tone to the room. Homeowners who want to have a less formal dining environment may turn to Tiffany-style pendant lights with stained glass, similar to what might be found in a restaurant.

Best Bedroom Lighting

The bedroom is a place where installation of lamps is very beneficial in a variety of ways. Small lamps are an asset because they're easy to install, inexpensive to buy and they create a cozy glow that's perfect for bedtime. Homeowners looking for a hardwired light solution can hook up an outlet to their light switch. This makes it possible to install a floor lamp that provides more light.

Best Bathroom Lighting

Like in the kitchen, the best bathroom lighting requires a variety of lighting solutions. It's important for the bathroom to be well-lit because light helps prevent accidents like slips and falls. Recessed lights and pendant lights are common in the bathroom. Homeowners seeking an attractive light source also turn to mirror lighting, to illuminate their face in the mirror.

Best Hallway Lighting

It's important to not forget the hallway when trying to decide what kind of lighting to install in the home. The hallway is a place that can easily become too dark and thus somewhat unsafe. When installing light fixtures in the hallway, whether track lighting or recessed lighting, homeowners must also ensure that the lighting can be accessed from both ends of the hallway.

Work With an Electrician

No matter what kind of light fixtures you're planning to install in your East End home, it's important to work with a licensed electrician. A skilled licensed electrician can install your light fixtures safely and according to local building codes.