How to choose lighting for your home – Part II

This is the long-awaited part 2 of how to pick lighting for your home! In Part 1, we covered how lighting can affect so much more than just the initial look of a room, and why it is important to ensure you’re getting high-quality products. Today, we’ll help you learn how to discern what types of lighting fixtures can work for various applications. As you may know by now, we chose Kichler for our lighting with this project. There are a wide variety of fixture types, but most homes will have a few flush mounts, ceiling fans, a chandelier or pendant, vanity lights and possibly sconces.

Lighting is More Than Just a Fixture

When opting for ceiling fans, considerations are also important, such as:

Wattage: Depending on the room size and wattage of your existing ceiling light(s) will determine exactly what type of fixtures you’ll need.

Cooling: While adding a ceiling fan to reduce energy use is a great option, we feel the best direction for homeowners is to install more efficient lighting. When choosing a ceiling fan, choose one with your ideal number of blades to minimize the amount of light blocked and your preferred aesthetic.

Fan speed: For optimal comfort and air circulation, make sure you are selecting an appropriate fan speed based on how much air movement is required in the space. Fan lighting options include LEDs or incandescent bulbs located behind clear shades or diffusers, or low voltage LED bulbs with colored shades for added visual flair.

Statement pieces such as chandeliers or pendants can bring a very distinct ambiance to a room.

Chandelier or pendant lighting options are typically used above dining areas and in a living space or entry way with higher ceilings. Keeping in mind the size and scale of your space and the desired look, here are a few more guidelines:

Pendant Lighting: Pendant lighting often offers a very dramatic effect, making it ideal for high ceilings. These fixtures can draw attention to a focal point or bring focus to an area of your home such as a dining or living room.
Chandeliers: Most chandeliers come with traditional candelabra bulbs, but contemporary styles can be paired with LED bulbs. Traditional chandelier lights are ideal for open dining areas while pendants work more effectively in smaller spaces such as hallways and kitchens.

Vanity lights are essential in most rest rooms, and help light the space for getting ready.

Vanity lights are generally installed in the vanity area along with medicine cabinets. High-end lighting options include LED bulbs, which help reduce power use, but can increase initial cost.
Sconces are popular fixtures for working areas, especially when multiple lamps are required in a tight space. We put vanity lights in the bathrooms above the mirrors, and sconces in the hallways. Choosing the right look for your space will ensure they add a very nice touch.

Sconces can be used in a lot of areas, and are a great way to add lighting in a small area.

Sconces are perfect for hallways, small spaces, bedside as a reading light, and outdoors. For this house, our favorite areas to put them were in hallways and the stairwell. Just make sure to determine how much light you need, and keep in mind that each fixture has its own style (simple vs. ornate), lighting color (warm vs. cool) and bulb type (incandescent vs. LED), as well as being suitable for indoor, outdoor or both.

Final thoughts: Make sure you consider whether you need or want dimmable lights or lights that can work with smart home enabled switches, such as these ones (Go sund) so that you can have more control over the energy usage as well. Make sure to follow us on Pinterest for more inspo and home content!