Lighting Fixtures

Lighting brings your home to life after dark. It creates textures, warmth, romance, or a suitable environment to work and study. Lighting fixtures, however, serve double duty: you want them to help create the quality of light that you desire in your space, but you also want them to be beautiful design elements even when they are not turned on.

Choosing light fixtures is easy when you combine your own taste and budget with a few basic concepts. For example, lighting fixtures need to be in proportion with the furnishings and architectural features of the room. A chandelier, for example, needs to be hung at least 30 inches over the dining room table in a room with eight-foot ceilings. The higher your ceiling, the larger the chandelier you can get. But if you are working with those constraints, you don't want a chandelier so big that it has no place to hang with 30 inch clearance.

Positioning Lighting Fixtures

You also need to know where to position your lighting fixtures for optimal effect. The way light falls affects the way we see surfaces and structures, and you want to bring out beauty without casting dreary shadows. Side lighting can be used to intensify modeling, while front light will make anything appear less vividly dimensional.

You also want to use lighting fixtures wisely in conjunction with your other decorative pieces. For example, a lighting fixture placed opposite a mirror will make the room seem much bigger and brighter. A small lamp beside a lovely vase or figurine will invite guests to share in one of your favorite treasures.