Your home is your pride of place. It is your sanctuary, where you want a happy vibe. Ceiling lights play an essential role in creating that feel. The lights can either bring together the room or undermine its complete vibe, making it look not quite right. That is something everybody wants to avoid. So what you need to start on the right foot are ceiling light essentials: practical tips for every home. This guide will help you become the light connoisseur of your home. Let’s get cracking and upgrade your home's lighting with our top tips and essential advice.
Key Elements to Keep in Mind
Every time you think of buying lights for the ceiling, there are some important considerations that need to be borne in mind. These will help you make the right choice and not regret the decision.
Size of the Room
All rooms in the house are rarely the same size. Some rooms are long and narrow, some are square, and some may be a mixture of curves and straight lines. The point is, in each room, the lighting solution will vary so that they can all be illuminated to the best of their ability. In a rectangular or square room, one large pendant light in the centre can become the point of focus. If it's the ceiling lights for the living room that you are considering, then even chandelier lights in the centre will set it off nicely. Conversely, in a narrow room, they will make it look even smaller. Hence, what you require are lights that are small in size. Tracking lights and spotlights with some strategically placed mirrors can make even a small room appear bigger. To put it simply, lights for the ceiling should be proportionate to the size of that room.
Height of the Room
The ceiling height will also be a key factor to consider when choosing lights for ceilings. Rooms with low ceilings can’t afford to lose any more headspace. Therefore, here only recessed and flush ceiling lights will do. However, if you feel that you can spare a few inches, try going with semi-flush lights. In these, you will even get designer ceiling lights, which will give your room a glamorous look. Rooms with high ceilings should ideally have layered lighting. The purpose of layered lighting is to ensure that all areas are well-lit. In such spaces, chandelier lights or recessed lights can provide ambient light, and spotlights and tracking lights will work as accent lights.
Style to Match the Room
In a room that is boho-chic, there’s no place for industrial ceiling lights. In the same manner, if the space has a futuristic vibe, you can’t use vintage lights. But in a minimalist room, industrial ceiling lights and in a modern room, designer ceiling lights will look good. The whole point is that the type of light fixture should match the style of the room. If it doesn’t, it will look quite off-putting and mismatched.
Coordinate or Contrast
When the walls are bright and white, ceiling lights in black work magically. Although black and white are contrasting colours, they make a bold and beautiful statement. Another likely pairing is that of beige or light-coloured walls with brass ceiling lights and bold-coloured walls with Moroccan lights. Of course, you can coordinate too, there’s nothing to stop you from doing that. The choice to make a statement by coordinating or contrasting is yours to make.
Versatile Lights
Ceiling lights in the living room as well as bedroom ceiling lights should be versatile in nature. This means they should extend illumination depending on the activity. When watching TV or conversing with each other, the lights can be dim. If reading, there can be a tracking light that shines directly on the book, making it easy to read, and so on. Versatility in lights can be achieved either through layering or incorporating dimmer switches. Even smart LED ceiling lights controlled through an app will deliver the same functionality.
Childproofing
Childproofing is an important consideration for households with small children. In rooms that are mostly occupied by them, think of child-friendly lights. They should not have any corners (sharp or otherwise) and should never be within easy reach of the children. Ceiling lighting options that give a diffused glow are perfect for their bedrooms.
Lighting up the whole house is a costly venture. Nevertheless, you can manage the expense by installing energy-efficient LED ceiling lights. These lights have a long life, and they don’t consume as much power as traditional filament bulbs. LED lights are available in different colours and tones and fit in all kinds of light fixtures.
Your Personal Style
It is possible to match ceiling lighting to your personal style. Thankfully, there are so many options that all you need to do is look. Search diligently, and you will even find a fixture that matches your quirky personality. If you desire fan lights, you can get those. Bamboo, rustic, antique, and designer ceiling lights - whichever style calls to you personally, you can adopt in your home's lighting scheme.
Lights in Wet Rooms
Bathroom ceiling lights have to be chosen carefully. Because here, your enemy is not just dust but also water. Hence, look at the IP rating, which tells you how well the fixture is protected against these two elements. Use lights that have at least an IP44 rating. Specifically in the shower area, the higher the IP rating, the better. Next time, when buying bathroom ceiling lights, be more attentive to this core aspect.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Last but not least, ceiling lights, too, need cleaning and swapping out fused or defective bulbs. If you belong to the army DIY, opt for lights that are easy to clean and can be reached easily. In this case, the consideration is more toward using lights with materials that repel dust and consequently require less cleaning. Also, the higher the light fitting the more difficult it is to reach. Therefore, it is better to let professionals deal with changing bulbs rather than doing it yourself.
The Bottom Line
Prior to reading this article, you would have never thought that so many things were be kept in mind before upgrading the ceiling lights. Keeping these practical tips in mind, the chances of making a mistake are minimised. With the right selection, not only are you able to meet your home’s lighting requirements, but also do it in style.
If you are not sure where to begin your search for ceiling lights, look no further than Comet Lighting. Here, you will find a wide variety of stylish and functional options to suit your space and personality.