The Best Light Fixtures for Kalamazoo Kitchens, Living Rooms, and Bedrooms
Light is the interior designer’s best friend.
Available at low- to no-cost, capable of drawing attention to the best parts of a home, and taking up no physical space, lighting is a hidden superpower for interior designers.
Despite this, many homes suffer from a very clinical type of lighting. For these homes, their lights are mostly overhead bulbs that bleach the entire room in the same bright white, and don’t highlight anything important.
If your home suffers from this stark, clinical lighting, then we understand how you feel. That’s why we’re taking this month’s blog post to highlight the best lighting fixtures for kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms. After reading this guide, you’ll be able to achieve a warm, tactful lighting that will transform your house into a home.
Kitchens and Dining Rooms: Blending 3 Types of Lighting
To properly light your kitchen (as well as any room), you need to know about the 3 types of lighting that make up modern lighting practices:
1. Ambient Lighting. Ambient lighting is the general lighting that you need to see a room for what it is. This lighting fills in all the big dark gaps and is foundational to a well-lit environment.
2. Task Lighting. Task lighting illuminates areas where you’ll be performing specific tasks. If you have a stove light over your oven, then you already have task lighting in your home.
3. Accent Lighting. Accent lighting is where you add a sense of personality to your home. These lights don’t have much “practical” value, but make your spaces shockingly more impressive.
With these three types of lighting in mind, we recommend these lighting fixtures for your kitchen:
- Hanging Lamps. The perfect dining table solution that acts as ambient, task, and accent lighting.
- Dimming Light Lights that dim—not just turn off—add a sense of intimacy to any dining area.
- Puck Lights. Puck lights are a simple task light solution. Attach them beneath a cabinet and voila!
Living Rooms: Balancing 8 Light Sources
Because living rooms are the most multi-purpose room in the home, it makes sense that they benefit from having the widest variety of lighting. For this reason, it’s recommended that living rooms have at least 8 light fixtures in them.
Though this may seem like overkill, you’d be surprised how beneficial an 8-light arrangement can be. Because light is fundamental to our understanding of a room’s structure and purpose, different light sources can make a living room feel like a completely different space in moments.
Think we’re overselling the 8-light rule? See some examples for yourself:
- 1 Dimming Overhead Light. Changes the living room from a place of social gathering to an intimate environment to a night at the movies.
- 2-3 Reading Lights. Flip on a reading lamp light to totally immerse yourself in a good book. Make sure to place one at either end of your couch and next to a loveseat or armchair.
- 1-2 Architectural Lights. For every piece of architecture in your living room (such as a fireplace or mantelpiece) add 1-2 light sources to properly include it in your living room’s aesthetic.
- 1 Layered Centerpiece Light. We highly recommend you have a light source that can illuminate the center of your room. That way, you can dim the room lights and layer a stronger source of light on your coffee table, sitting area, or entertainment center.
- 2-4 Corner Lights. Transform the corners of your living room from shadowy edges to their own unique spaces with articulated wall lights.
These are just some of the light sources you can incorporate into your living room to elevate your living space by a matter of miles. For a more detailed explanation, click here to contact us today.
Bedrooms: Exploring Your Personal Light Level
Maybe more than any other room in the home, bedrooms greatly benefit from varying light levels. Since bedrooms are where we wake up and fall asleep, they need to have a mixture of soft light for when we’re tired and bright light for when we prepare for the day.
While many choose to address their bedroom light needs by incorporating one central dimming light, there are better options easily available. We recommend:
- Lamplights. Essential for those who love to read in bed before they fall asleep and don’t want to get up to turn off the overhead light.
- Task Lights. Task lights around your wardrobe, dresser, mirror, and closet not only look nice, but make it easier to get ready in the morning while you’re feeling groggy.
- Mirrors. Though technically not a light “source,” mirrors spread lamplight from fixtures or sunlight from windows throughout your room. Bonus: they also make the room feel larger!
We recommend keeping the temperature of your bedroom lights in mind when choosing light bulbs. You’ll want to have options for bright lights to make sure you look your best, but not so bright they give you eye strain in the morning.
If you feel the lighting in your house doesn’t help to make it feel like a home, then our professionals are here to help. Our staff is always up to date on lighting design trends and styles, and we love bringing our passion for lighting to you. For more information, click here to contact us today or visit us in-store at 250 Mall Drive in Portage.
