Buying a new home allows an ideal opportunity to be creative with lighting. Today, lighting does much more than simply help you live and work in your home. It can be an integral part of interior design that will enhance the beauty of your home, give focus to a room, highlight your favourite possessions, create moods of intimacy or make rooms feel bigger.
Depending on the home, your builder may offer standard and upgrade lighting packages, or you may be given a lighting allowance so you can choose everything from scratch. In either case, the builder will often refer you to their chosen supplier where you can work with a lighting expert to make your selections. This is a great opportunity to explore what is available and get professional advice to help bring out the best in your new home. Here are a few key considerations for lighting your home:
- Ambient lighting is general space lighting that provides overall illumination and defines a room or area.
- Accent lighting provides dramatic interest by drawing attention to selected objects or architectural features in your home.
- Task lighting is light to work by. It must be tailored to the job and placed correctly to avoid shadows and eye strain.
- Lighting controls lets you control the combination and intensity of lights.
Most areas in your new home will benefit from a combination of all three types of lighting.
Rooms today often serve a number of different functions; flexible lighting arrangements allow you to enjoy different activities and create different moods in the same area. A good example is the kitchen, which often serves as a central area for meals, family activities and social gatherings. Consider a combination of track or recessed lights in the ceiling for overall lighting; task lighting over the kitchen table and at the counter, sink and stove so you can work safely, and accent lights, for instance in glass-front cupboards.
By having the lights on separate circuits and using dimmers, you have full control and can adjust the lights to suit any activity or occasion.
The marketplace offers an incredible selection of lighting options for all areas of the home. Be imaginative as you think about the features of your new home, your furniture and your special belongings.
