How to Light Your Home Like a Designer: 14 Tips and Tricks Experts Always Follow

Lighting your home is a vital step toward making your home more inviting and comfortable to use. Learning how to layer ambient, accent, and task lighting, choose warm or cool bulbs, and avoid common mistakes will help you to boost functionality from the kitchen to the living room, bathroom, and bedroom, and elevate the mood of every room. 

Read on for tips and tricks for lighting your home like a pro.

Maximize Natural Light

Before you start lighting any room, take stock of how much natural light it gets throughout the day. Take note of areas that need brightening, and choose fixtures that fill the gaps, such as sconces, a floor lamp, or a pendant light.

Maximize natural light by selecting window treatments that filter but do not entirely block out light, such as roller shades and sheer curtains. Hang mirrors to reflect and bounce around available natural light. And be sure to clean windows regularly to brighten your space. 

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Layer Lighting Sources

Good lighting is always layered. Combine the three main lighting types to create balance and give you the flexibility to adjust lighting according to how you are using the room throughout the day and evening.

• Ambient lighting: Also referred to as general lighting, ambient lighting refers to the overall lighting scheme in a room. A well-lit room should feel balanced and welcoming.
• Accent lighting: This type of lighting highlights specific features such as built-in bookshelves, ornate moldings, or art. It is designed as a complement to ambient lighting.
• Task lighting: Designed to facilitate specific tasks such as cooking or reading, task lighting fixtures include desk lamps, a reading light next to an armchair, or under-cabinet lighting in a kitchen.

Adapt Lighting for Each Room

While the general rules of lighting apply to any space, you should tailor your lighting plan to each room for the best result. 

• Living room: Use a variety of warm lighting sources in your living room to define seating areas and create an inviting atmosphere for gathering and entertaining. Include task lighting for a reading corner, window seat, or to highlight built-ins or art.
• Bedroom: Warm lighting in the bedroom creates a relaxing environment for winding down. If you enjoy reading in bed, layering in brighter task lighting is essential. 
• Kitchen: Cool lighting will ensure that you have sufficient brightness for chopping vegetables and preparing meals. Warm light will make the space relaxing during mealtime, which is particularly important in eat-in kitchens.
• Bathroom: Cool lighting that is bright enough to illuminate grooming areas is important in the bathroom. Install warmer lighting around a soaking tub niche to make it more relaxing.
• Dining Room: In a formal dining room, mix a statement pendant light or chandelier with sconce lighting on walls to create balance. Install a dimmer switch to help you control light, and augment with real or LED candles for atmosphere.

Utilize Multiple Fixture Types

Never rely solely on an overhead fixture or a lone table lamp to adequately light your space. Even a ceiling full of can lights won’t provide enough variation to create a pleasant atmosphere and is not a substitute for layered lighting. 

Blend multiple light sources—from floor lamps to table lamps, sconces, pendant lights or chandeliers, LED strips, picture lights, and even candlelight and firelight—to create depth. 

Light Every Corner

Lighting every corner of a room ensures that every inch of the space is usable. Spread your lighting fixtures throughout the room, ensuring they are placed at the correct height so that they don’t create glare or shadows while you are standing or sitting.

Mix lighting fixture styles, shapes, and materials to keep your room design from looking flat or too calculated.

Use Warm Light Bulbs for Atmosphere

Prioritize warm lighting in spaces like living rooms and bedrooms that are devoted to rest and relaxation.

Use cooler light bulbs to illuminate task-oriented spaces like kitchen countertops or bathrooms, taking care not to go too harsh or bright.

Define Zones With Lighting

Use lighting to define zones in an open-plan kitchen and living or dining room, or a studio or loft apartment. This will allow you to turn on and off distinct areas according to the time of day and the ways you use the space.

Or use pendant lights to anchor a dining table, kitchen island, or peninsula. Choose complementary but not matching fixtures to subtly define each space.

Filter Light With Lampshades

Light fixtures are available at all price points, but can be expensive. Revamp an existing chandelier or sconce with lampshades to soften the light quality. Choose a natural material and neutral color that will turn a glare into more of a glow, such as boho-style woven pendant light fixtures or vintage sconces with fabric shades. 

Highlight Special Room Features

Use accent lighting to highlight specific objects or room features. Use simple LED strips under or inside kitchen cabinets or to backlight a bathroom mirror, home bar, or TV wall flanked by built-in shelving. Or highlight architectural features such as crown moldings or coffered ceilings.

Prioritize Energy-Efficient Lighting

Always use the most energy-efficient light sources possible to save energy and money. An easy swap is LED lights, which, according to the Department of Energy, use 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Install Smart Lighting

Leverage technology with a smart lighting system that will make it easy to control everything from brightness to color using voice commands or your smartphone or tablet. 

Smart lighting can also be used to enhance home security either through motion-control sensors or remote capabilities that allow you to turn lights on and off to give the appearance that someone is home when you are away. 

Showcase Candlelight and Firelight 

Augment existing lighting with candlelight and firelight. Candles and a working fireplace will create a warming and cozy feel that will complement existing lighting. Swap in LED candles or an eco-friendly fireplace for a more sustainable alternative.

Embrace Purely Decorative Lighting

While many light fixtures have a sculptural component that allows them to double as decor, consider adding some purely decorative lighting that uses light to create atmosphere. This could be anything from a neon sign to string lights, a lighted wall sculpture, or a backlit home bar. 

Lighting Mistakes to Avoid

Identifying common lighting mistakes will help you to find the right lighting plan for your space. Avoid these common pitfalls for the best result.

• Relying on a single overhead light. Do not rely on a single fixture to light a room of any size. Many designers eschew overhead lights altogether, spreading light around the room with everything from sconces to table and floor lamps instead. 
• Too bright or too dim lighting. Too much harsh lighting is unflattering and uncomfortable, while an underlit room feels unsettling. Multiply light sources and temperatures to create flexible options that you can adjust as needed.
• Light fixtures of the wrong size and scale. Choose light fixtures that aren’t too small so that they produce enough light and don’t get lost in the room. Sculptural oversized lighting such as pendants or floor lamps can double as decor when switched off. 
• Choosing the wrong bulbs. One of the biggest mistakes people make is using cold and overly bright light bulbs to light spaces meant for relaxing, like living rooms and bedrooms.
• Awkward placement. Hang lighting such as dining room chandeliers or pendant lights to wall-mounted sconces at the correct heights to prevent glare and shadows.   
• Neglecting accent and decorative lighting. Good lighting is uplifting and will make you and your room look better. Once you have your basic lighting needs covered, enhance your decor with accent lighting to show off architectural details or create a focal point with a wall-mounted light sign or sculpture.