New Year's Resolutions: Organize Your Space with Lighting
It’s January again - a time full of hope and excitement to start fresh! We’re here to help you with the task of decorating and organizing your space - so you can feel rejuvenated this year.
When it comes to organizing your home, the right lighting is more than just decoration - lighting plays a large role in making you feel more relaxed and productive.
Here are some lighting tips to help make your space feel bigger and brighter this year:
1. Layer your lighting
To make your space feel open and inviting, use a balanced mix of various lighting types. It is common to see a room with a single, centered light. However, a single light source is not sufficient to provide a sense of spaciousness, as it can result in harsh shadows and uneven illumination, limiting the room's visual comfort. For the best lighting, use a mix of ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting.
- Ambient Lighting - the main source of light, also known as “general lighting”
- Task Lighting - focused, directional lighting, used to complete tasks
- Accent Lighting - lighting used to bring attention to a decorative piece or area of a home
A kitchen using all three types of lighting.
For more information on the three types of lighting, refer to our Lighting Design Master Guide.
2. Light up dark corners
When choosing lighting for a space, consider how much natural light comes into the room. Generally, dark spots will make a room seem smaller. Placing a floor lamp, table lamp, or a task-oriented pendant lamp in these spots will open up the space, making it feel welcoming.
A pendant lamp and a table lamp, placed in dark areas of the room
3. Use lighting to create zones
In the modern, open concept layout, layered lighting can help create zones in the home, tailored for the needs of each room. Here are some examples of how use lighting to create zones:
- Kitchen: The kitchen is the heart of the home, used for cooking but also as an entertainment space. Good ambient and task lighting will help to serve the various activities that take place in the kitchen. Pendant lights and recessed lights are great options to provide ambient and task lighting. For countertops, LED strips under cabinets or wall lights are great to target these working areas and highlight your nice dishware.
- Dining Room: The dining area can feature a chandelier or a pendant above the table for ambient lighting. Wall lighting, floor and table lamps, or recessed lights can supplement the lighting in a dining room, to add a warm, cozy feeling.
- Living Room: In the living room, a wide range of activities can happen. Whether you’re spending time with family or reading a book to relax, good lighting can set the mood. Recessed lighting, floor and table lamps, and wall lights all work well together to brighten up this lively space and provide lighting for all the various tasks that can be done.
For more details on layering lighting for each room, refer to our How-To Guide on Layering Lighting.
In addition to following these tips, there are various lighting solutions that can make any space seem open and welcoming:
With dimmers, you can adjust and control the brightness of your lighting fixtures depending on what mood you desire to create. Dimmers allow for more flexibility, enabling you to transition your space from being bright and invigorating to soft and relaxing, depending on the time of day. Dimmers are great for the living room, where a multitude of different activities can happen. We recommend Legrand Adorne, the American leader in household switches and dimmers.
Flushmounts and Recessed Lighting
For smaller spaces and low ceilings, flushmounts and recessed lighting are great options since they add light to the room without taking up space.
Track lights are versatile and compact. They can be used for general lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting, and they adapt to respond to constantly changing demands and activities.
Wash Walls with Light
Illuminating your walls with recessed lighting, track lighting, or wall lighting is a great way to make a space seem larger. By illuminating the walls, you lighten the boundaries (where there’s usually dark spaces) and give the impression of an open environment.
Washing walls with light will make any space feel bigger
Up-Lighting
Like wall-washing, up-lighting reflects light off the ceiling to make a place seem taller. Up-lighting can also be used to emphasize a tall ceiling. To achieve this effect, choose an up-light, like the Totem Up and Down Pendant by Pablo. Up-lighting is not too harsh on the eyes, so it creates the feeling of a luxurious space.
Up-lighting gives the illusion of taller ceilings
Long Pendants
Like up-lighting, long pendants can also be used to emphasize a high ceiling. For smaller rooms with a high ceiling, pendants draw the eyes upwards to bring focus to the height of the room, rather than the size.
Long pendants make a room seem taller
Mirrors work wonders for small spaces by creating an illusion of depth, expanding the boundaries of any room, and making it feel larger. They reflect light as well, effortlessly brightening up any space to further add a sense of openness and airiness.
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We hope these ideas can help you get started with creating a fresh, new space for the upcoming year! For more tips on how to light small spaces, refer to our Light Guide for Small Spaces.
Feeling inspired? If you'd like to consult our team of experts, contact us! We're more than happy to answer questions and support you in your next lighting project.