Lighting…the jewelry of your home
Designing the lighting for our home was one of the most exciting parts of the design process. It’s no wonder my Pinterest boards were full of lighting options.
Lighting sets the stage for your overall aesthetic. It has the amazing ability to either elevate a space or give it a more casual tone. My biggest tip when choosing lighting is to really work with a professional lighting designer at a lighting store. They are worth their weight in gold! They will save you money and time returning and reordering fixtures. I was able to show our designer inspo pictures and not only could she pull a catalog and sift through 200 pages to find it in 5 seconds flat, but she could also show me similar looks with a cheaper price tag. She literally saved us hundreds of dollars on lighting.
Here are a few things I learned from our fabulous lighting designer.
Size matters. Have you ever seen a fixture way to small for the space? It sticks out like a sore thumb. Deciding between the 2-tier 15 light chandelier and the one-tier 10 light can make or break the look of the space. Really look at the dimensions of your space, the furniture and it’s location to help you decide on the right fixture.
Location matters. Are you hanging your fixture in front of a fireplace or television? You may need to make sure you go with an adjustable height fixture on a chain vs. one with rods. Should the fixture be centered in the middle of the room? In the center of a table? Centered between windows? If it’s going to be hung in front of the windows that have sunset views, you don’t want a large solid fixture that will obstruct your view.
Style matters. Great interior design makes different pieces look like they belong together without being matchy-matchy. For lighting that can mean different things. You can tie in fixtures using the same shape bulbs. You can use matching finishes which will make them look coordinated. Or you can simply have matching styles such as two lantern styled fixtures. Just make sure if you are in one large space and see three different fixtures from your POV that they look cohesive in some sense.
Personality matters. Make a statement in the room with your lighting. Make it grand, make it fun or make it unexpected. One of my favorite lighting choices was a pendant for our powder room hung asymmetrically over the vanity. Who says you need to use traditional bathroom lights in your bathroom anyway?
Lighting can give you sticker shock and eat up your budget quickly. Working with a professional is so helpful in suggesting where you invest and where you save. Our lighting designer also found similar looks to many of the high end fixtures I had been eyeing, which saved me a ton of money.
When it comes to lighting it is a splurge, after all, it is the jewelry of your home, so make it shine bright.
