Choose the Perfect Lighting Fixture for Your Home

Decorating a home requires choosing numerous elements that should harmoniously work together. From implementing the perfect furniture to choosing the right color palette, there are several things every homeowner needs to consider to design the home of their dreams. One aspect of design often overlooked is lighting, which can make all the difference between creating an inviting home and an unwelcoming one. In order to choose the perfect lighting fixture for your setup, there are a few steps that you need to know first.

Fortunately, there are several types of lighting fixtures you can choose from, each with their proper placement and usage practices. To help you along, we have created the ultimate guide helping you to choose the perfect lighting fixture in order to spruce up your home decor.

1. Pendant lights

Pendant lights are one of the most commonly used lighting fixtures for homeowners. They are best reserved for the kitchen and dining room, where they can seriously enhance the aesthetics of the space.

In general, pendant lights hang from the ceiling. They usually come as single lights and can be found in all styles, sizes, and lengths.

Homeowners’ favorite types of pendant lights are the hand-blown glass pendants, as they bring a touch of modern artistry to the room, no matter what the interior design style is. You can hang them above a kitchen island or a dining room table to offer ambient lighting and work well for task lighting. These are one of the most requested items when people  choose the perfect lighting fixture.

2. Chandeliers

Much like pendant lighting, chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling. However, the lights this type of lighting fixture produces are pointed upward and reflect off the ceiling.

What makes chandeliers unique is that they offer that luxurious feel that no other type of lighting fixture does. They provide a much more decorative flair to the overall room, often serving as the focal point in the space.

Some popular chandelier styles are the crystal chandelier, candle-style chandelier, drum chandelier, sputnik chandelier, and waterfall chandelier. Although you can hang them anywhere in your home, they look best above a dining room table.

3. Recessed lighting

Recessed lighting refers to the lighting built into the ceiling and does not protrude from the surface of the ceiling. As a result, it seamlessly blends with most interior design styles without distracting or occupying floor, table, or wall space. In addition, recessed lighting can produce various lighting effects through different beam angles and spreads.

When decorating with recessed lighting, there are a few things you need to consider. One is to be thoughtful in terms of placement. The rule of thumb is to divide your ceiling height in half to get the correct spacing between each recessed light.

Then, consider other important factors like the amount of natural lighting in the room and how the space will be used.

4. Sconces

A sconce can be described as a wall-mounted light fixture. You can install them in nearly any space but are most commonly found in hallways, living rooms, dining rooms, and bathrooms. In bathrooms, sconces provide excellent task lighting, especially when you mount them over or on either side of a mirror.

When decorating with sconces, you have a few ways to do it. For example, you can display identical sconces around your wall art in the living room to make the artwork a focal point on your wall. Of course, you can also follow the same statement setup for other rooms.

Also, remember to focus on the direction of light. However, this will mainly depend on the type of lighting fixture you get to produce the desired mood in the space.

5. Floor and table lamps

These lamps do not require installation other than plugging them into an outlet. The number of styles and sizes is staggering, so you have plenty of options to choose from to spruce up your home interior. Some great options you can consider are farmhouse, Art Deco, retro, coastal and French Industrial.

Also another great thing about floor lamps is that they are portable. You can quickly move the light around if you don’t like its current location. It is their versatility and accessibility that makes them very desirable among homeowners.

Final thoughts

Lighting is something you should never overlook when decorating your living space. It is often the first thing a guest will notice when they walk into the room as it sets the mood and tone of your entire home.

Depending on your current interior design style, you have plenty of lighting fixtures to choose from to spruce up your home. However, if you need inspiration, refer to our post and select the lighting style that you believe will best fit your interior.