7 Lighting Mistakes Every Homeowner Makes
Good lighting is one of the most important aspects of home décor. It helps to make a room feel warm and ambient and also helps to highlight your favorite features of your home. However, it’s not always easy to get lighting right! Here are seven lighting mistakes that are often made by homeowners.
1. Too Much Overhead Light
When you’re lighting a room, you want to think about it in layers. Many homeowners just install an overhead light, which can end up making your home look like an office space or convention center. It’s important to combine overhead lighting with floor lamps and table lamps so you have many layers of lighting.
2. No Dimmer Switches
Depending on the time of day, you will probably want different levels of light in your house. Many homeowners overlook this fact and fail to install dimmer switches that let you control your lighting from day to night. You can keep it dim for a dinner party and brighten it up for a family cooking night.
3. No Attention to Shadows
Many homeowners forget that light creates shadows. If you put a light in the wrong spot, a cabinet or piece of furniture can create a huge shadow where you don’t want it. In the bathroom, for instance, you could try sconces on either side of the mirror in order to avoid shadows.
4. Ignoring Lamp Height
Lamps create vastly different effects depending on the height they are positioned at. The bottom of a pendant light should be 30 to 36 inches above a kitchen island and a chandelier should be 66 inches from the dining room floor. If a hanging lamp is too low, it won’t create enough light, and if it’s too high, it will be blinding.
5. Wrong-Sized Fixtures
Many homeowners don’t pay attention to the size of the light fixture they are hanging – a chandelier or lamp that is too small or too big will make the whole room look disproportionate.
6. Using the Wrong Bulbs
Lights can consume a lot of energy. Using CFL and LED bulbs can help you conserve energy and save money over time because they last longer.
7. Not Matching Light With the Room’s Colors
Don’t forget that some rooms will simply be darker than others and will require more light. If the wall colors in a room are darker shades, even a lot of light won’t be enough to make the room appear very bright. If you want more light in a room, consider repainting the walls in a lighter color.