Lighting Picks for the Entire House
Lighting is Everything. It creates mood and has an emotional effect on you.” – Zak Bagans
Hey y’all! Welcome back to my blog. This week we’re talking all about lighting! I’ve been super busy the last few weeks making selections for Project Marwood and one of the major components has been sourcing new lighting for the entire house. In this blog, I’ll give you a little knowledge about lighting basics and I’ve also round up a few of my faves that I came across this week that I’m excited to share with you. Let’s get started!
As humans we depend on light to see. The original and most important source of light is the Sun; now, with modern advancements we light our homes using light fixtures (fixed and portable) that are powered by electricity (most common) or battery. As a designer I know that importance of lighting and how it can directly impact a space, both good and bad. Aesthetics aside, we’ve all been in poorly lit spaces and have felt the effects. For example, the original light fixture in my master bedroom was too small for the room and as a result didn’t light it adequately, making it difficult to read, watch TV, EXIST lol. Swapping out that one fixture with a ceiling fan with adjustable light was LIFE CHANGING. It’s amazing how switching out a few fixtures can really revitalize a space.
The Basics
I won’t get too far in the weeds on this, so I’ll keep it simple. Outside of being able to see well; good lighting can: set a desired mood or atmosphere, and/or direct attention to a specific area or focal point. When lighting a room, you must consider what types of lighting will work best in that space/area. Lighting is typically divided into three categories based on needs/its intended use:
Task Lighting – Light for specific visual functions. (Reading Lamp)
General (Ambient) Lighting – A comfortable level of light for normal functions (finding your way around, locating objects, seeing people and objects. (Overhead Fixture).
Accent Lighting – Focuses attention on specific objects or areas. (Picture Light over artwork).
All fixtures both fixed (hardwired) and portable) will fall into one or more of these categories, since I was sourcing for Project Marwood, I’ll focus on a few of the more common types of fixed lighting.
Pendant Lighting
Pendant lighting is a decorative ceiling mounted fixture that is typically used as task lighting. Most commonly seen in kitchens over an island or peninsula, but you can also use them as bedside lighting in place of the more traditional table or reading lamp. Also, depending on the number used and/or size of the space, pendant lighting can also be used as general lighting. I’m sourcing pendant lighting for the kitchen so check out a few of my faves that I saw this week.
Wall Mounted (Sconces)
Like the name suggests, these wall fixtures are mounted directly to the wall and one of my personal faves because it’s so versatile. Depending on placement or size, a well-placed wall mounted light can be used throughout the house and in each of the lighting categories: as display or accent lighting over a piece of art or area of interest on the wall, as task lighting in the case of bedside and reading lamps, and as general lighting in a small enough space/area such as a bathroom vanity light. Of course bathroom lighting was on my list so check out some of the vanity lights that caught my eye below.
Ceiling Mounted (Chandelier)
Ceiling mounted fixtures are the bread and butter of light fixtures and come in various sizes and decorative styles including pendants, flush mounts, semi flush mounts and hanging fixtures or chandeliers. Due to their size and placement, most ceiling mounted fixtures are going to be used as general lighting with some exceptions like the previously mentioned pendant light. Chandeliers tend to be the largest and most decorative of the bunch and are usually selected to make a statement and draw the eye upward. (Although I was sourcing primarily flush mounts and lighted ceiling fans for Project Marwood due to their functionality and cost effectiveness, I couldn’t help but to fall in love with some of these gorgeous chandeliers.
As I mentioned before we’ve all most likely been in a room that was poorly li. I’ve been to several apartments in college where there were no overhead ceiling fixtures at all, architectural oversight or maybe they thought lamps would be sufficient, either way the end result was dim and tragic. If your space needs a pick me up, swapping out existing hardwired fixtures and/or portable lamps (table and floor) can be a simple and cost-effective way to create a fresh new look.
All the lighting fixtures shown in this blog are from Shades of Light, they have hundreds of exclusive designs to help you distinguish your style so go check them out! If you’re interested in the specific fixtures shown they are all linked below.
This page includes affiliate links, which means if you choose to click and/or purchase I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
