Lighting Design Mistakes To Avoid When Decorating A Home

Posted on: 8 October 2017

When it comes to decorating a room, you need to think about more than just furniture and accessories. Lighting design plays a huge role in the overall appearance of a room, but many homeowners forget to carefully think out their lighting design. The lighting that you use in any room will enhance the space and complement the rest of the decor. If you're moving into a new house and need to decorate or redecorating a room, avoid the following lighting mistakes:

Failure to Think from Top to Bottom

Many rooms have ceiling fans with lights or recessed lighting in the ceiling, but you should not rely on those alone to provide light for a room. When it comes to lighting design, you need to think from the top of a room to the bottom. Layering your lighting will help make a room look better while also providing more flexibility. In addition to lighting connected to the ceiling, also consider adding floor lamps, reading lamps, and wall sconces. 

Not Installing Dimmers

One of the easiest ways to get an incredibly versatile lighting design is by having dimmers installed on your light switches. Dimming switches are typically very affordable, so they are well worth the investment. When you have dimming switches installed in your home, you can change the lighting in a room depending on the occasion, time of day, the type of mood you're trying to set, 

Forgetting About Shadows

Before you install any type of lighting fixture, it is essential to think about where shadows will fall when the light is turned on. For example, you may want to consider placing two lighting fixtures on either side of your bathroom mirror instead of one fixture over the middle of the mirror to prevent shadows from falling over your face. It is also important to consider where lighting fixtures are placed in the kitchen to help ensure that shadows don't fall over an area where you need light to see, such as a food prep area.

Buying the Wrong Size Light Fixture of Lamp

One of the most common mistakes with lighting design is purchasing the wrong size lamp or light fixture. Before buying a light fixture or lamp, it is very important to think about the area where it will be placed. A light fixture that is too small will look odd hanging over a very large dining room table. Likewise, a large, bulking lamp will look out of proportion if it is placed on a delicate side table. 

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