4 most common mistakes in home lighting

To many lighting seems like a obvious thing, because we all use several light types in our homes and workplaces. However, to have really good and efficient lighting, that will not only properly illuminate your space, but that will also be efficient and will look good in the room, isn’t as easy as it might seem, since there are many things that one needs to remember regarding good lighting. And that probably is the reason why so many people make a lot of mistakes when it comes to their lighting choices. So to help you stop making common lighting mistakes, here are some of them, along with ways to fix them, so you can have interior designer worthy lighting without the expense of hiring one.

1. Having only one light source

The mistake: One of the most popular lighting mistakes, that is committed by anyone who leaves the lighting choice to the very end is that they install only one light source in a room, even if the room is big and naturally quite dark. One single lighting source will result in difficulty to see, especially if we are talking about spaces like the kitchen or home office, and therefore the room won’t feel as comfortable and can even put you off from wanting to use the space.

The fix: A way how you can fix this mistake is to use at least three layers of lights in each room, so you can be sure that the light will reach all the corners of the space and will illuminate it so it is comfortable to work in. These three layers of lighting should be overhead or ambient lighting that provides general illumination to the room, task lighting that are meant for specifics areas of the room like the desk or kitchen counter and will illuminate this area so you can better see what you are doing, and accent lighting that will add style element to the room along with helping to illuminate the room and making it brighter.

2. Not installing light control options

The mistake: Another thing that people often forget when setting up their lights is that there are so many light control options out there, that you can use, to not only make your lights more efficient but to also help you set the right mood in your room.

The fix: So think about equipping your home lighting, especially overhead fixtures with different light control options, so you not only get more variety with your lighting, but you also use it in a much more energy efficient way. Things like light dimmers, for example, is a great thing to have in rooms, because they let you control how bright or dim the light appears and therefore lets you modify the atmosphere of the space. Who doesn’t like dimmed, mood lighting for the bedroom or lower intensity light for movie nights in the living room. Another option is motion detectors and timers, because these systems will let you use your light more efficiently in the rooms that you often run in and out of. For example, pantry, coat closet and laundry room might be the perfect spaces for motion sensor lights, that will eliminate the need to turn the light on and off each time you go in and out of this room, and will help you save energy because the light in these rooms won’t stay on for eternity if you forget to turn it off.

3. Not properly illuminating small spaces

The mistake: Then a lot of people also forget to put up lights is small spaces like closets or above kitchen counters and these spaces get lost in the dark. Many people just install overhead lights and don’t even think that they should have additional lighting in those more cramped places. What this does is it not only creates additional shadows when you stand in front of these spaces and with your back to the ambient light, but it also is counterproductive in a way, because if your storage or work space is dark and you cannot see anything in it, then you probably won’t use it as often and won’t keep it organized as well, because it is dark anyways.

The fix: Don’t let your closet, pantry or other small spaces become a black hole in your home and illuminate it properly with additional lights. One of the best lighting solutions for this is LED lights, because LEDs usually are very bright and come is variety of different shapes and sizes, so you can tailor them to the small space and its needs. The beauty of small spaces is that they don’t always require overhead light so they would be illuminated, so you can really play around with this lights and maybe install lights on the sides or in the corners of the tiny space, so it not only becomes bright, but also creates an interesting lighting installation in your house.

4. Using the wrong color temperature lights

The mistake: And lastly people tend to often chose the completely wrong color temperature of the lights they are going to use, which automatically makes the room feel unpleasant and washes out the colors in the space, making them look dull. Color temperature essentially is the way you describe how warm or cool the light appears and usually ranges from very blue, cool tone light (around 10,000 Kelvins) to a red, warm tone light (around 1,700 Kelvins). And when you chose the wrong color temperature light for your room, it can go from your oasis to a room you can’t stand to be in, just because the light color isn’t right.

The fix: To fix this you need to make sure that you tailor the color temperature of your light to the particular room as well as even to the color in which your walls are, because these factors usually are the main ones that will help you chose the right color temperature lighting. For example, if your room in painted in a warm color and the furniture, too, features warm tones such as browns, oranges and reds, or you just want to create a warm tone in your space, then you should go for a warm white colored bulbs that are in the 2,400 to 3,000 Kelvin range. But if your room features a lot of cooler tones like blues and greens or you just want your space to appear very bright and illuminated, then look for lights that are in the 4,000 to 6,000 Kelvin range, since these bulbs will give out cool white colored light and will enhance the color of your painted walls, letting it look vibrant.

ledwatcher

Blogger, editor, developer who loves green living. Interested in photovoltaics and solar lighting. Reviewing solar products since 2013.

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