Home styling isn’t just about furniture and colour schemes. One important factor is how you illuminate a home and allow natural light to interact with the living spaces. Follow our property stylists’ three lighting tips to expand your spaces and create the right ambience for a welcoming home.
Develop a lighting plan
Just as you would with furniture, it’s a worthwhile step to plan out your lighting before you start to buy or install any fixtures. Lighting can provide task, ambient or accent illumination, or any combination of the three.
- Task lighting should be carefully positioned in study areas, kitchens and bathrooms;
- Accent lighting such as downlights can be used to highlight feature walls, artworks or other items;
- Ambient lighting serves to create warmth and character.
Consider layers of lighting to create dimension and points of interest throughout the space. This means mixing soft warm lamps and floor lamps along with standard ceiling lights to create cosy reading spots and welcoming living areas. Pendant lights above the kitchen bench and the dining table can help to define these focal points and provide extra brightness where it’s needed, while diffused light is ideal for warm and inviting living areas. For small rooms, mirrors and lighting work well together to expand the space.
Choose function over form
There are so many beautiful lighting options, but to create a functional home you will need to consider whether they are practical for the space you intend to use them in. A sculptural bedside lamp may look stunning, but if you can’t use it to read a novel then it won’t be fulfilling its primary purpose. Kitchen pendants are ideal in groups so you won’t have harsh lighting obscuring your view when preparing food, and bathroom lights should provide bright and flattering illumination for applying makeup and so on. Ensure that any wall-mounted lights are positioned above eye level, otherwise they may lead to glare or eye strain.
Tailor lightbulbs appropriately
Don’t be afraid to swap out your lightbulbs to achieve the right balance of warmth and light for your inviting property presentation. You can choose the appropriate colour temperature ranging from a warm candle-level glow to a bluer, cooler tone. Fluorescent or LED bulbs have multiple benefits; they are long-lasting and more sustainable, and they also allow you to choose a brighter bulb for the wattage used. You might also choose vintage style bulbs for feature lights to add further interest and complete your home’s lighting.
Furnish & Finish can assist with professional property styling services in Sydney and Brisbane with a seamless styling process.
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