Moving in the Light Direction

Lighting Suggestions for your New Home

Yes, we’ve reached the point in adulthood where we talk about home lighting options over dinner with friends. Soon the topic of conversation will be the new Dyson vacuum cleaner, but that’s a story for another blog. If you’re building a house, you might be surprised to discover how much goes into choosing lights for different rooms in your home. The lights you select will generally depend on how your home is designed and what aesthetic or mood you’re going for. Here we’ll take you through some of the most popular lighting options and make some suggestions about which lights work best in different areas of your home.

LED Downlights

LED downlights are a popular choice as they are more energy efficient and have a longer lifespan than other traditional lighting options, without diminishing on light quality. According to Energy Saver, LED lights also produce significantly less heat than incandescent light bulbs. Downlights are available in three colour temperatures – warm white, cool white and daylight – allowing you to tailor your choice depending on the atmosphere you’re going for. We recommend installing a dimmer switch in certain rooms, such as the living area or theatre room, to add ambiance.

LED Strip Lights

LED Strip Lights can be added to any surface in your home, including under your cabinets, above your splashback or behind your bathroom mirror.  Strip Lights are very thin, meaning they’re easy to install in confined areas and can be easily hidden from view, so that you can only see the light being produced. You can also control the colour, length and brightness of strip lights, making them increasingly popular in newly built homes. Consider adding some in your outdoor areas around decking or to draw attention to steps.

Pendant Lights

A pendant light is a light fixture that is suspended from the ceiling, generally by a cord, metal rod or chains. Pendant lights are a stylish and practical addition to many new homes. You can choose from various different shapes and sizes, depending on your home’s décor. When choosing pendant lighting, consider both the look you’re going for and how you want to illuminate the space you have. The shape of your pendant light will dictate where light is directed. For example, if you want light that is directed downwards, choose downlight pendants. These are popular over kitchen benches and islands as they provide focused light perfect for tasks such as cooking and cleaning. If you’re going to add a pendant light to your kitchen, consider the placement before you have it installed. If you’ve chosen a big, decorative pendant light, then ensure it is installed high enough that it won’t block your line of sight. This is less important if you’ve chosen various small bulbs, which are unlikely to impede your vision. If you’re interested in learning more about pendant lights, Architizer will take you through all your options.

Lamps

Whilst not crucial, it’s a good idea to consider where you might place lamps around your home while you’re still in the design and construction phases. You might need to strategically install power points to avoid dragging extension cords around all your furniture. Think about whether you want a lamp on your bedside table or whether you’d prefer having pendant lights installed on either side of your bed. Lamps are a great way to add atmosphere and are a more flexible option should you ever want to change the tone of a particular room.

Smart Lighting   

Many new homes have Smart Lights, LED bulbs that contain software that allows you to control and customise your lights remotely using a smart device or even voice activation. If, like us, you’d rather leave the lights on than put your popcorn down and get up from under your blanket, then you should really look into this. Thank us later.

Final thoughts…

It can be difficult to achieve the ideal balance between aesthetic and functional lighting. We hope this blog has given you some ideas as to what you should be thinking about when choosing lights for your home. Most of the time, you will combine many or all of the above lighting options in a room to achieve the perfect ambiance.