Is your home lighting adequate in London
Lighting a domestic property is something of a fine art. There are many interior designers who specialise in the precise placement of lights. When you think about the myriad bulbs and fittings on offer, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by your options.
Adequate lighting is critical to make your home comfortable, safe and secure, while ensuring the wellbeing of your family and avoiding eyestrain or interrupted sleep. This is a huge topic, but we’ve put together a few tips.
Lighting a Kitchen Properly
If you’ve designed a kitchen yourself, you’ll know that different areas have different zones. Lighting each area properly is key.
Over counters, you need task lighting under cupboards. You also need ceiling lights to cast a glow over dining areas. You can also place lighting on top of cabinets, so that they throw light upwards onto the ceiling.
Consider using low pendant or track lights over dining spaces to create an intimate feeling. For under and over cabinets, LED strips work well. Opt for warm white or coloured LEDs on top of cupboards, but light your worktops with cool, bright white.
Lighting Living Spaces
Most of us have large ceiling lights in our living spaces, but lighting the room from the sides can make it more homely. In addition to your existing fittings, think about floor lamps that cast light at a lower angle.
Modern smart bulbs, like the Philips Hue system, can offer interesting colour-changing light settings. You can create dim glowing scenes for watching movies, or bright, colourful scenes for parties. Your lights can even respond to the movie on TV.
Lights in a Bedroom
Bedrooms are traditionally lit using one ceiling light, and a small table light on each side of the bed. Children’s bedrooms may also need a dim night light to illuminate the way to the door in case they wake up.
Increasingly, we’re seeing LED strips used in bedrooms to provide atmospheric lighting or to highlight certain areas.
Creative Bathroom Lighting
We’re big fans of LEDs in bathrooms, and you can even use motion sensors to turn some of your lights on when people enter the room. This is handy if you have children who may need the bathroom at night, but may not be able to reach the light switch on the wall.
If you’re going to put new lights into your bathroom, take care to follow building regulations. In any areas near to water, you must use lights with an appropriate IP rating. The rating changes according to the light’s location in a room.
So while it’s possible to light the inside of your bath, or the area behind your bathroom cabinet, you must consult a professional electrician to make sure your new lights are legal and safe.
More Advice
Outdoors or indoors, your lights can make or break your design scheme. Well-positioned and appropriate lighting can make life much more pleasant for your family. Consult us for advice on your garden lighting, and let us recommend the right equipment for the job.
