The size of a place does not matter, but how you light it can affect its function. A well-placed ceiling light fixture or lamp can offer enjoyable and practical ambient light. So, it is necessary to choose the best lighting for every room in your home. Let’s see what types of lighting suit a house and what we need to know about them.  

Three different layers of light for the best lighting

Light is available in three layers: ambient, task, and accent. You can decide which layer to go for based on the size and type of your room. You need at least two layers to light a room correctly. Sometimes just adding a light layer can considerably improve your home’s lighting.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient, also known as general lighting, is required in every room. It offers a convenient general level of light. Ambient light sources are usually overhead lighting, including ceiling light fixtures, and as a general rule, it’s the best place to begin when lighting a room. There are many ambient light sources you can use for your lighting plan. They include ceiling fans, chandeliers, flush mount or semi-flush mount ceiling fixtures, pendants, recessed lighting, torchiere lamps, track lighting, vanity lighting, and wall sconces.

Task Lighting

Task lighting lets you see while you’re doing a task. It provides the enormous, direct light required for certain works such as reading, cooking, prep and applying makeup. Task light sources for your lighting plan include desk lamps, island or mini pendants, under cabinet lighting, vanity lighting, track lighting, and work lamps.

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting lets you highlight attractive features in your home décor, like a painting or a mantel. It also acts as a secondary light source to increase ambient lighting in a room. Ambient lighting chiefly supplies overhead lighting, and accent lighting assists in lighting up parts of the room that does not receive enough ambient light. Accent lighting sources that can be used for your lighting plan include recessed lighting, track lighting and wall sconces.

What kind of lighting is the best lighting for each room?

Not all rooms in your home serve the same purpose. Therefore, you can’t have the same lighting mode for all of them. Below, you can find out what lighting each room requires.

Foyer

The foyer makes the first impression of your home, so you’ll need ambient light with a couple of accent light sources. You can’t make mistakes with a flush or semi-flush mount light. If your foyer has an arched ceiling, select a chandelier or pendant lantern for a more extraordinary entrance. In case you have a side table, a table lamp can supply a secondary light source.

Living Room

The living room is the place for spending time with family and friends, relaxing, enjoying a book or watching a movie. Lots of daily activities happen here. That means you must have a variety of lighting.

If your living room has parts with no light or the existing light casts shadows, you must have ambient and accent lighting. Recessed lighting and flush mount or semi-flush mount lights are excellent choices that can be used for ambient lighting. Track lighting provides marginal lighting, letting you send light toward paintings, glass vases or whatever you want to display. If you have a focal point in the room, such as a mantel, add wall sconces to either side for extra accent lighting.

Other ambient lighting choices include ceiling fans, chandeliers, pendant lights with a drum shade and torchiere floor lamps. A torchiere covers the ceiling with light. These lamps perform well if you’re not in the market to establish permanent lighting or if you need to light up small spaces like a loft or apartment. Some ceiling fans can also supply great LED lights for home spaces such as the living room.

Kitchen

A kitchen needs several layers of light. Recessed lighting is excellent ambient lighting for both big and small kitchens. If your children do their homework at the kitchen island while you cut into pieces veggies for dinner, or attend to your pet, hang an island pendant or individual mini pendants in a row over the island for both task and accent lighting.

Dining Room

In addition to mealtime, the dining room can be used for decorative design and handicraft or family game night, and it must be illuminated appropriately. Chandeliers are still a classic choice and act as an excellent ambient light source. Try putting table lamps on a server or surrounding the server with wall sconces for additional ambient and accent lighting. Under cabinet lighting supplies extra task lighting and occupies little space. It’s also useful for the holidays when you have a lot of chefs in the kitchen. You can go with a pendant or a chandelier to illuminate a breakfast nook.

Bedroom

Bedroom lighting should provoke a sense of tranquility, but you still must have ambient lightings like a ceiling fan or a flush mount light. Wall sconces are a great space-saving strategy for smaller bedrooms. For a sitting area or a small workspace in your bedroom, table lamps function excellent.

Bathroom

A vanity light above the bathroom mirror could still be a nice, classical choice. Yet, many homeowners are setting up chandeliers for a more attractive, spa-like feel. Wall sconces or pendant lights on each side of the bathroom mirror would give an amazing look to your bathroom. The sconces supply cross light, facilitating activities such as applying makeup, shaving or flossing. Recessed lighting functions well to illuminate a shower or water closet.

Conclusion

Choosing the best lighting for each room in your house, is a very sensitive and important task that must be done with precision. There are three different light layers: accent, task, and ambient lighting. They have different functions and can be used in different parts of the house.