Ever wonder which type of lamps you should put where in your home? Real Simple offered a quick reference guide to lighting in your home. Their author, Sarah Stebbins, never disappoints when it comes to delivering good, useable information in a short snippet on the page. Here are her tips on how to light 5 common rooms in your home.
- The living room—Sarah mentions to light 3 of the 4 corners, using one of these to focus on an object (a work of art, a plant, etc.) When lighting this room, use a combo of table and floor lamps, so that you have light shining both upward and downward. Use 3-way switches on your downward facing lamps and a dimmer for any overhead.
- The dining room—Use a eye-catching large chandelier to provide light above the table. Don’t go over 100 total watts though and save your sunglasses for outside. You can use small table lamps or beautiful wall sconces elsewhere in the room to give the space additional subtle lighting.
- The kitchen—Sarah recommends using overhead lighting on a dimmer. (This way you can turn it up when you are cooking or cleaning) Additionally, you can add lower sources of lights to help work areas. These can include pendants or even under cabinet lighting (usually the best bet.)
- The bedroom—You’re shooting for a cozy look here. Stubbins advises using reading lamps or sconces by, but not pointing at, the bed. If you have overhead lighting, make use of a dimmer here as well.
- The bathroom—In this room, try side lighting, like a pair of sconces next to the mirror. An overhead light is nice to have as well for use in cleaning, and a light over the shower is helpful for this purpose as well.
