Interior Home Lighting by Katherine Helm

INTERIOR HOME LIGHTING – ELEVATE YOUR LIGHTING FIXTURES

Katherine Helm

Interior lighting is an overlooked design element. Lighting can make such a difference in the look and feel of your home.

Not Sure What Lighting Fixture to Choose?

Picking the correct light fixture can be overwhelming – What finish? What style? What size? What will work well together?

These indecisions are why so many people are living with poor lighting or inferior light fixtures usually what the previous owner or builder installed. Home builders usually don’t know the décor style of the future homebuyer so they tend to install generic, generally inexpensive fixtures to satisfy building codes with the assumption the homebuyer will switch them out for something better. Unfortunately, many buyers leave lighting “as is”.

Homeowners sometimes feel like they need to make light fixtures match the door handles, cabinet hardware, faucets. Not so – look at your lighting fixtures as another layer to your interior design. Aim for harmony, not unity. Light fixtures shouldn’t all be a matched set, but they should be complementary.

Scale, Scale, Scale

The number one question is what size fixture should be installed? General rule of thumb: add the length and width of the room in feet, then use that number in inches when selecting a fixture. For example: a 10foot by 12foot foyer would call for a 22inchwide chandelier. When in doubt scale up a bit.

Clearance

Above a table or kitchen island, a fixture should hang approximately 30 to 36 inches over the surface. Where people will walk beneath a fixture, design for at least 7 feet of clearance.

Note the Trends

Though classic fixtures that go with your home’s architecture have staying power, incorporating a more current look can help your home feel updated and could help resale.

LIGHTING TIP

If you currently have Can Lights in the ceiling – change the standard bulb to a new LED bulb. A brighter bulb will instantly change the look and feel of your room.