How To Choose Lighting Fixtures

Ready to choose lighting fixtures for your home? It is no easy feat. You know what your dream home looks like. How do you bring that to life with a seemingly endless choice of lighting?

Here are a few things to help you consider what kinds of lighting you’ll need in each room, and how to coordinate them without too much matching.

The team at Kaufman by Design has interior designers ready to help you choose from our wide selection of lighting. Stop by our Cantrell location and see a small collection of our favorites.

Size and placing.

The most important aspect of your new lighting fixtures is how large they are. The second is where they will be placed. There are a few sites that have measuring guides that will tell you exactly how large your overhead lighting should be. The accent and task lighting is all up to you.

Consider the amount of space between light fixtures, or task or accent lighting. You want to create a seamless balance. This is especially important if your home has an open floor plan.

Matching.

Choose your main lighting fixtures as if they could all be seen at once. You don’t want them to match, but you want them to coordinate.

How is this done? You don’t have to be an interior designer to make a good selection. Each lighting should have one matching element. Take the light over your dining room table. The chandelier or pendant lighting in your entryway should have either the same kind of metals, type of glass, similar shaping, or just reasonably within the same style. To choose lighting for your living room, go through the same process. This time you have both lights to choose from.

This method isn’t fool-proof. Your choice should always come down to using your best judgment. Even if you aren’t an interior designer, you are an expert on your personal style.

Functionality.

The rooms in our homes can’t function without proper lighting. While you consider style, you should also consider what the room will be used for. How much task lighting will there need to be? Does ambient lighting make sense?

For example, your living room needs a good central light source that can provide enough light for throwing a party but can still calm down to make the room more relaxing. Your office should have plenty of task lighting over your desk, workspace, or reading chair.