Decorator Guide to Room Lighting

How-to room lighting tips that will bring out the best features in your home while making the room have just the right atmosphere for your needs.

When it comes to decorating a home, what comes to mind for many is choosing furniture, fabrics and window treatments along with adding paint on the walls, or coming up with a color scheme.

But the one thing that most homeowners forget or don’t give much thought about is the lighting… and I am not talking about just the style of the light fixtures.

Lamps and light fixtures can completely transform a room all on their own, not only by their styling, but the type of light they emit and where they are placed.

Why You Should Care About The Right Lighting for a Room

Lighting a room is one aspect of decorating that many don’t place enough emphasis when planning out how to decorate a room.  I am a little obsessed with getting the lighting in every room right.

Many years ago, I did home decorating consults. I would spend a few hours in someone’s home and help them find the best ways to use what they already owned and if needed, then help them choose new furnishings.

I noticed early on that no one seemed to care about their lighting. What they did care about was only if they had a pretty chandelier or a trendy style of table lamp, but their rooms lacked ambiance, especially at night. They didn’t care that the chandelier’s light was glaring or if the shades looked orange when a lamp was on.

Talking about lighting became part of every consult I did. As it is much more than just a pretty light fixture.

The Different Types of Room Lighting

There are 3 different types of room lighting.

In this post I am going to show you easy ways to use these 3 levels of lighting in every room to create the perfect balance of Ambient(general), Accent and Task lighting.

Each can effectively dramatically change the look and feel of every room in your house and making your entire home feel inviting and look better overall.

Accent lighting is the most overlooked element in most rooms, but always the most dramatic as it draws your attention to a particular element or architectural feature.

When adding the lighting to the rooms in your home, many of us simply pick out a pretty lamp or fixture, screw in a light bulb and leave it at that.

But…. is that lamp, the shade and the lightbulb you added right for the room?

When the lighting is good and well balanced throughout a room, it can make all your decorating efforts look their best which is why I think it is so important and something every DIY decorator should care about just as much as choosing the right paint color or furniture.

Trying Out Two Different Lamps in My Living Room

Lamps are definitely a great decorating accessory, but function of a lamp, the wattage, shade (opaque or transparent), height and placement all play a key role in enhancing the beauty and comfort of your home, creating a mood, and helping you perform tasks easier. 

• Think function before form when it comes to lighting and adding lamps to a room.

I bought two floor lamps to try out in my living room. I placed each lamp in the corner for a few days so I could see how it looked from all viewing angles and I also used them at night so I could see how much light each offered.

After seeing both in my room and the type of light each emitted at night made my decision easy. I liked the look and the light that the 71″ Adjustable Tripod Floor Lamp offered over the smaller swing arm floor lamp which looks OK from this angle, but is too small and low to be useful.

The swing arm lamp is not height adjustable and is too low and small in scale with the masculine recliner. Plus it can only take a 60 watt bulb which is too dim.

The tripod lamp is 71″‘ high and can take up to 100 watt bulb that provides ambient light to the room, plus its size fills the corner and is in proportion with the size of the recliner.

I also was able to change-out the bulb socket on the lamp to a dimmer socket so I can dim this light when not needed for reading or for adding overall lighting to a room.

A dimmer socket turns it into a mood setting light with the turn of the knob. Read how to do it in this post, How to Add a Dimmer Socket to Any Lamp in Minutes

Adding More Than One Type Of Lighting to a Room

The new floor lamp is not the only lighting in the room. It compliments the other sources and different types of light that are already present.

Like the overhead eyeball lights in the ceiling that can be either Ambient light that lights up the whole room in general when the eyeball is directed down.

If I change the direction of the baffle to face the fireplace, these ceiling lights become Accent lighting that brings attention to a focal point such as the decorations on the mantel.

These ceiling lights can also be dimmed from a wall switch dimmer to create a relaxing mood when needed.

In the opposite corner from the new floor lamp is a table lamp placed behind the sofa. It is on a dimmer, which makes it easy to read or can be dimmed when watching TV.

The last source of light to the room comes from the overhead ceiling fan with a light in the dining area of the kitchen.

Since we removed the wall between the two rooms to make an open concept space, this fixture plays a part in the living room. It is also on a dimmer switch so I can vary the amount of light when needed.

Each of these four sources of light can also act as ways to divide a room into different zones. For instance a dimmer on the lamp by the sofa can be turned up so one person can read, while the dimmer on the kitchen can be dimmed for someone to be enjoying a candlelit dinner.

Pay Attention to the Color of Your Lamp Shades

Make sure that all the white shades in the room cast the same color.

• A mix of whites and ecru lamp shades in the same room can look off.  Make sure that all the shades omit the same cool or warm color of light. The only variation you should see is if you have a lamp with an opaque shade. These can be added to the room as accents as no light comes through the shade, it only goes up and down.
  • I am in search for a new lamp shade for the lamp in the above photo. I have had it for about 8 years. Notice the inside of the shade is becoming yellowed with age which is effecting the color when the light is on. I want it to be very white so the light it emits is soft white light.

Room By Room Lighting Examples

Here are a few of my favorite by room home lighting tips and tricks with easy to understand illustrations.

For instance, you may have a ceiling light in your bedroom that creates overall ambient light can sometimes be harsh. Try to create balance and a more cozy feel with bedside lamps that work as task lamps and may provide all the lighting you need in the room.

To add mood, add opaque shades to these bedside tables to cast the light down onto the table or your reading material.  

In kids rooms you can accent their walls filled with their awards and such with a wash of light.  If it is on a dimmer, it can act as a night light, too.

To add drama to any room, place one or two can lights (uplights) on the top of hutches, shelving units or cabinets. 

You can find them in the lighting department of any home improvement store for under $10.00.  They can make a dramatic difference and one of the least expensive ways to add interest. See resources for these at the end of this post.

Inexpensive puck lights or stick on strip lighting can light up the inside of any cabinet.  If you have glass shelves you will only need to add the light to the top – the light will travel through the glass.

Have you ever been in a kitchen at night that has under the cabinet lighting?  It makes the kitchen seem so special and cozy.  Puck lights and the strips work well here also if you don’t have any electricity.  They make them for closets also.

Home Lighting Tips To Keep In Mind When Decorating

Ambient Lighting – Is general all-over lighting that has a shade to diffuse and soften the light.

Task Lighting – Task lighting does just that, it assists you while doing something. A reading lamp,  an under the counter kitchen light, a desk lamp that is focused on your work surface so that it clearly illuminates what you are working on.

Accent Lighting – Accent lighting highlights something in a room. Directional ceiling lights, wall scones and picture lights attached above a picture frame, a can light on the floor that accents a plant or a piece of art

• Mix styles and heights – A center of the room overhead lighting fixture can cast harsh shadows around the room.
  • Instead of relying on it to illuminate a room, add another source of lighting, such a table lamp. Every room should have at least three sources of lighting which should come from varied heights (ceiling, table lamp, floor lamp, or task) to assist in evenly dispersing the light throughout the room.

• Match shade color –  Look at what color your white lamp shades cast when the light is on. Is it more ecru or white?  Choose the color you like better and try to buy shades that will all cast the same color of light through the shade.
  • The only exception is of course if you have one shade that is a color and/or a metal or opaque shade where the light is cast up and down and not through the shade itself.

• Use dimmers – If you are handy around the house and can install a dimmer on the wall switch that controls a light, do it. They are not expensive and allow you to vary how bright the light will shine with a simple dial, toggle or slide.
  • For instance when cooking in your kitchen you may need a lot of light to see what you are doing, but when you sit down to relax and enjoy your dinner, being able to dim that light to eat in a more relaxed state can create a more pleasurable meal, especially if you like to add candles to your table.
  • Same goes for a bathroom, having the light on a dimmer allows you to dim the lights to take a relaxing bath, but turn it all the way up when you are applying makeup.
  • No electrical skills? You can use a plug-in style dimmer for any lamp that is plugged into a wall outlet. They cost about $13.00 and are simple to install and use.

How to Place Lighting In a Living Room

• Create a triangle when placing fixtures around a room –  When placing light fixtures in a room, I try to follow the triangle or square method of placement. For instance, in my living room I used a triangular pattern to disperse the light evenly throughout the space.

• Try out different styles, wattages, and types of light bulbs –  I am a fan of 100 watt halogen light bulbs, but they are getting hard to almost impossible to find.
  • I have tried many different types, some emit nice clear white light, others can be too blue or yellow. The color can make a HUGE difference in how your room’s wall and fabric colors look at night. Experiment until you find what brings out the best in your decor.

Room Lighting: Try This Tonight

Why not take a stroll around your house tonight?  Look to see if you have ambient, accent, and task lighting in each room.

Ask Yourself:

• Is your light balanced throughout each room or is one corner or side in the dark? If not, move or add another lamp. Try changing the wattage or lamp shade.

Make Changes:

• Move your lamps around, change the shades from transparent to opaque, experiment with different types of bulbs and wattage, place a lamp on a pile of books to create more height.
  • Try adding a small lamp to your kitchen counter – it will add instant cozy mood lighting.  

• How about adding a dimmer switch to a fixture as I mentioned above. Did you know that even existing lamps that you own can have an easy to install dimmer socket added? You can buy them here:
  • Lamp Dimmer Sockets – These require a little DIY, but easy to install.
  • Plug-In Dimmer for Tabletop and Floor Lamps

• Angle or adjust the height of your lamps to ensure you don’t get any glare.

• Vary the height of the lights in each room to add feeling and depth. For instance, place on the floor, a low table, shelves, wall-mounted or hung from the ceiling.

Remember, good lighting is one of the easiest things you can do to elevate a room. Each room in your home should have at least three points of light, and they should not be fluorescent or too bright.

Soft lighting chases away the shadows and warms a room making it look and feel amazing.

More Decorating Tips to Try:

• Using Ottomans When Decorating a Room
• How to Decorate So You Feel at Home
• Hang Art on a Wall the Way a Designer Does
• Adding An Accent Wall In a Room
• Adding a Skirted Table When Decorating a Room