Proper, well thought out lighting can do wonders to any home. Using lighting fixtures conscientiously and providing the right light accents to your interiors is one of the best ways to really show off how your beautiful your home is. It is also a great way of jazzing up a space that you haven’t redecorated in a while.
Modernizing the lights in your home is a cool interior designer’s trick and here’s how to do it.
Assess your interiors
Walk through your home and assess the whole area and from here make an initial plan of where you plan to put up new lights or areas that you plan to light up. You can draw a rough sketch of the space and identify where you want to put the lights. You should also indicate which areas will need different lighting effects – dim lights, bright lights, yellow lights, among others. Finally, mark which areas will need constant illumination (places where the lights will rarely be turned off) and those that will only be lighted sometimes.
Take care of the basics
The first step to modernizing your lights doesn’t start with replacing light bulbs and fixtures but on the less glamorous part of the system – the wiring and switch boards. Have an electrician asses your connections and wiring to ensure that they’re safe and can handle the load. Repair anything that needs to be repaired. This is very important since most household fires are caused by faulty wiring. You should get new switch boards if you want a total updated look for your interiors.
Choose light fixtures
Identify what kind of fixtures you want for particular areas of the house. Do you want light scones, a chandelier, or lamps? These and more are options that are open to you but everything will have to depend on how it will look with the rest of your décor and the kind of atmosphere you want to create with the lights. Be very conscious about this part of the process because it is quite easy to fall into kitschiness if you choose the wrong lighting fixture for a room. Ask friends for their opinion, read up on design guides, visit design websites or participate in online forums. These are cost-effective ways of improving your interior designing skills.
Spruce up the oldies
You don’t necessarily have to buy brand new lighting fixtures. You can the old ones that you have. One great idea is to undertake improvements on the fixtures you already own. For example, placing new fabric on lamp shades or polishing up your chandelier.
