What not to do when it comes to Residential Lighting

We all favor different lighting fixtures for our homes. Nevertheless, there are some critical dos and don’ts that you should follow when you decide to install new fixtures in your living spaces. Consider the following tips for different rooms in your house.

DINING ROOM LIGHTING

There's a lot to consider before selecting a dining room light fixture. From pendant placement to chandelier size, it's important to take into account your space and existing furniture before purchasing any lights. 

Do
Get accurate dimensions of the room before you seek out the lighting options available. This will enable you to equip your dining room with a suitable chandelier, one that isn’t too small or too big for the room.

Don’t
Don't overlook lighting your artwork. If you have elevated art elements in your dining room, ambient lighting can wonderfully accentuate their appeal. Go for lighting options that don’t take too much attention for themselves.

BATHROOM LIGHTING

While maintaining ultimate privacy, you want to illuminate your bathroom using natural light in the most efficient way.

Do 
Add wall sconces to the sides of your mirror to replace customary vanity light. These will deliver better illumination for your daily routine.

Don’t disregard the types of bulbs
To take your bathroom’s look a step further, consider incorporating an LED bulb with a color temperature between 2700K and 3000K. These temperatures offer a perfect, flattering warm-white illumination suitable for bathroom tasks. 

BEDROOM LIGHTING
With the numerous lighting sources available for your bedroom, identifying an ideal starting point can be quite challenging. A few pointers in the right direction:

Do 
Before installing pendant lights, ensure that your ceiling height spans at least 9 feet. Place the pendant lights on either side of your bed to facilitate light tasks such as reading.

Don’t 
Avoid drawing too much power from one plug point. If you add numerous lights to one power socket, the lights may flicker, giving an effect that is less desired.

KITCHEN LIGHTING

This is the most accessed room in every house. If something is off with the lighting, you are likely to take notice immediately.

Do Incorporate 2 or 3 pendants in your kitchen depending on the size that you want to install. Place the pendants 32 inches away from each other for optimum visibility and airflow.

You can then determine the size of the pendants to fit overhead keeping in mind that they should be more than 6 inches from the island’s edge. (see our full guide)

Don’t Shun small pendants. Traditionally, pendants come in a width of 6 inches. This works well for small kitchen islands, but larger kitchen islands call for bigger pendants.

HALLWAY LIGHTING

Wall sconces are perfect for lighting dark places such as hallways. They accentuate artwork and architectural features alike. Consider these two pointers while installing light fixtures in your hallway.

Do
To establish the quantity of sconces to install in your hallway, take the total length, divide it by 8 then deduct 1. Starting at the edge of your hallway wall, place sconces 60 to 80 inches apart from each other.

Don’t
Don’t place a single semi-flush light at the center of your hallway this will leave the corners in the dark. Instead add wall sconces to balance out the light.

For more Pro Tips, visit our lighting guide