No one lighting scheme will work for every room or area of your home. The lighting requirements for your kitchen, where you cook and prep food, is different than those for a bedroom, where you relax and sleep.

Professional lighting designer David Warfel provides us with lighting plan considerations for different areas of your home and landscape.

1. Kitchen Lighting

Developing a layered lighting plan will help you create a functional, adaptable and illuminated kitchen. Your kitchen lighting scheme should start with creating a functional workspace.

Adding lights where you need them the most, such as above countertops, sinks and cooktops, will let you perform manual tasks in a bright and safe atmosphere.

2. Bathroom Vanity Lighting

Getting bathroom vanity lighting right can make getting ready in the morning a breeze. Properly positioned vanity lights should emit soft, diffuse light that reduces shadows and makes it easy for you to look your best. 

Light fixtures, pendants or sconces on both sides of a mirror will bring diffuse, even lighting to your bathroom vanity.

3. Living Room Lighting

A well-lit living room requires five layers of light. Light for “knowing” helps you carry on conversations and move through the space. Light for “feeling” makes it easier to relax after a long day at work.

Light for “changing” helps you adjust to the time of day and the task at hand. And light to help “tell your story” highlights your personal style.

4. Dining Room Lighting

A chandelier over a table is a classic start to a well-lit dining room, but if you want to create the most comfortable, functional and stylish environment, you will need to address all five layers of lighting. 

5. Bedroom Lighting

We all need sleep, and many of us could use more of it and of higher quality. Light can either disrupt your sleep or help you sleep better.

The trick is knowing what kind of light to use in your bedroom and when and where to use it.

6. Home Office Lighting

Working from home is more common than ever, so it’s important to get your home office or workspace lighting right. Consider ideas that ensures your home office draws in natural light, is functional, adjusts to the time of day and is comfortable.

7. Ceiling Lighting

Designers often call the ceiling the “fifth wall” in a room, and just like the other walls in a decorated space, the ceiling deserves the same level of attention to design.

8. Stair Lighting

Designers now apply multilayered lighting approaches to most spaces, and stairs are no exception. Step lights, linear LED accents and other ingenious lighting tricks help to showcase staircases and make them safer to traverse.

9. Patio Lighting

Summer brings warmer nights and the yearning to linger outdoors. But once the sun goes down, your patio or deck requires special lighting to make it as inviting as the inside of your home.

10. Exterior Lighting

Lighting up the front of your house right is a great way to boost your home’s kerb appeal and make it feel warm and inviting for visitors. 

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This article via Houzz does not constitute advice; readers should seek independent and personalised counsel from a trusted adviser that specialises in property, a tax accountant and property design specialist.