Monthly Topic
We are starting a new section that will provide a monthly
topic to help you think of additional ways to add your own
personal touch to your home. Let us know what you
think.
Lighting Essentials:
No matter how beautiful your home might be, if you have
the wrong lighting you're not showing it off to its greatest
advantage. Proper lighting enhances your skin tone, allows
you to see what you're doing and draws attention to focal
points in your decor.
There are three main types of lighting. The first, general
lighting, gives basic, overall light to an area and should
be bright enough to allow you to function safely in your
home. Accent lighting highlights and draws special attention
to details in your home--artwork, plants, collectibles.
Task lighting is just what it sounds like--light to help
you perform tasks such as reading, cooking or hobbies.
To achieve the best use of light in your home, here are
things to keep in mind:
- Don't over- or under-light a room. Most people tend
to over-light, but you can avoid that by checking the
tag on each lamp for recommended wattage and not using
more. Or install a dimmer.
- Choose the right light for the job. For general
lighting, overhead lights are the traditional choice,
but also consider multiple floor lamps or cove lighting--lighting
hidden in a decorative way, such as that around the
perimeter of a room--for a soft warm feel.
- Put the right light in the right place. For accent
lighting, for example, consider recessed pinspot lights
on the ceiling that shine down on a table or mantel.
For further accent, try sconces flanking the door.
- For a good reading lamp, look for the right lampshade--one
that's not too high or too wide. A reading lamp should
cast light on your book without getting it in your eyes.
- In addition to general lighting in the kitchen,
consider task lights on the stove, sink and counter.
- In a seating area, make sure lighting appears to
come from the front of you, not behind or beside you
or from the person you're conversing with.
- When you go to a showroom to buy lamps, bring pictures
of your home and the area you want to light if you have
them. If not, bring measurements--the room size, window
dimensions, measurements of any archways, the height
of the ceilings, etc.
How to Buy and Hang a Chandelier
"Chandeliers are a great general light source in the
dining room," says show host Sherry Ruggieri. That's because
they direct light up, where it bounces off the ceiling and
back down to create a warm, soft glow. Here are a few tips
for buying and hanging chandeliers:
- Choose a chandelier that's a little more than half
the width of the table it will hang above.
- Hang it so the bottom is about 30 inches above the
top of the table.
- If the chandelier you already have is too big for
the table, hang it higher. Go up one inch for every
inch it is too wide--that will help it look proportional.
- Don't buy a two-tier chandelier unless your ceiling
is at least nine feet tall--no ifs, ands or buts!
