Let There Be the Perfect Light: How to Decide Lighting in Your Custom Home

Regardless of their practical use, lighting fixtures do so much more than just illuminating a space. Lighting plays a crucial role in creating the experience you get from that space, be it a room, a hallway, a niche, or outdoors. It can dim or enhance the ambiance of a room, and when used thoughtfully, it can beautifully compliment a room’s interior decor elements as well.

Having the knowledge on how to best use lights your advantage will be extremely beneficial, no matter what phase your custom house is at.

Here are two aspects which must be carefully considered before deciding on the kind of lighting you want to install:

Functionality

First and foremost, you need to consider how the light will be used in a particular area. Will you need it for cooking? Working? Reading? Or to entertain guests? Narrowing this down will help you decide on the type of light you want to look for and its placement. A bedroom light shouldn’t have to make you get up to turn it off, and soft lighting in the kitchen will not be of much use while you try to prepare dinner. Once you have the functionality decided, choose the kind of light that will serve its purpose.

• Task lights are for focusing on a specific function, such as a desk lamp, a kitchen under-counter light, or a floor lamp next to a reading nook.
• Ambient lighting is the general illumination in a room. You could think of it as the lighting landscape of an area that sets the mood, such as bright and cheery or low and calming.
• Accent lights are those that are used to draw attention to a particular object, like artwork on the wall, an architectural feature, or on your patio setup.

Remember, every space warrants a combination of these three types of lights to enable you to have layers of lighting that you can adjust as required.

Spatial Dynamics

The dimensions of a space also need to be considered when deciding on the perfect lighting for that area, such as how high the ceiling is or how spacious the room is. A small room should definitely not host a glaringly large chandelier, while a large room needs enough ambient lighting available to see across the room without straining. A bedroom typically also does not need to be too brightly lit, and there should always be a source of natural light flooding in during daytime.

Same goes for the kitchen, depending on how its designed, it should have a combination of lighting fixtures and windows that help you utilize sunlight during the day and offer sufficient lighting by the time dusk approaches.

It’s important to discuss your lighting requirements with your builders as soon you decide to get your custom home built. Our team at Fretwell Homes are professional home builders in Volusia County who understand how lighting influences the aesthetic appeal of an area.

From the direction your house should be facing to get the most out of natural light, to built-in spaces for hidden lights, we can help you make the best decisions for your new home.