How do you choose the best lights for your home? Lighting and Lights will help you on:
- How to choose the best ceiling light
- How to choose the best lamps
- How many lumens you need for your size of room
- What are the different styles of ceiling light?
- What are easy fit ceiling lights?
There’s a lot of science behind getting your lighting right and whilst this may sound a little dull, we want to illuminate the choices that you face when choosing your lights so that it is a pleasurable and easy experience. You’re unlikely to like the hundredth light you see any more that any others, because you’ll most likely have forgotten the first you’d seen and be unable to compare, so we’re here to help you hone down what you need before you even start to look.
There’s confusing terms, a wide variance in quality and price along with so many colours, shapes and sizes that it’s not surprising that you may find buying the perfect lights a little daunting.
So, first things first – let’s start with the ceiling lights and here, size really does matter. A huge light in a small room looks as disproportionate as a tiny little light would on the ceiling in Westminster Abbey.
Use our handy guide below to see what size ceiling light would be great for your home:
So now you know that, what about how tall you need your light to be? We have a convenient guide for the perfect hanging height for your lights here too:
So now you know roughly what size and type of ceiling light you’re after, you can move on to the fun bit – style.
Chandeliers make a grand statement in any room and generally give off loads of light as they feature multiple lamp-holders. Available in loads of styles from traditional right through to modern, they will be a seamless focal point to any room. We especially recommend these over dining tables, as a long drop over a stairwell or in a glamorous master bedroom.
Ceiling pendants are a contemporary design that enjoy success in all styles of home. Giving out a focused area of light, these are great for intimate lighting over a table on their own or used in a row over a kitchen island or breakfast bar for a wider spread of light.
Ceiling pendant clusters are extremely popular at the moment, due to their attractive aesthetics and flexibility. Clusters can be draped in an attractive spiraling drop, nestled together or used with ceiling hooks to create an alternative look and a wider spread of light. These are great used in any room, just make sure you adhere to a clearance of 7 feet from the floor to the lowest point of the light to avoid any unnecessary bumps (or place over furniture)!
Semi-Flush ceiling lights are perfect in homes with standard or slightly low ceiling heights as they allow for enough height clearance. Available in a vast range of shapes, sizes and eras, it’s easy to find the perfect one for your home.
Flush ceiling lights are ideal in homes with low ceilings as they nestle as close to the ceiling as possible. There’s still a comprehensive and broad selection on offer, so you won’t have to compromise on style.
Easy fit ceiling lights do exactly what they say on the tin. If you look up in your home at the ceiling, you’ll usually find (at least one!) old, plastic suspension hanging down. Easy to fit (hence the name!) or ceiling shades fit on a standard suspension, so you won’t require an electrician and you’re in for a treat, as we have loads of them for you to choose from! You can simply change these with the existing shade for an instant makeover.
If you want to go a stage further and choose to banish the yellowing plastic suspension, the good news is that they can easily be replaced with any ceiling light of your choice. If you have a ceiling shade (AKA an easy fit ceiling light) that you love, you can update just the suspension for a metal finished one to make it look like a new pendant!
So, now you’ve got the size, drop and style of ceiling light that you need, you’ll need to work out how much light you need and yes, you’ve guessed it… we’ve done a chart to help you work out the number of lumens that you need in your room too!
Along with knowing the number of lumens that you need, you’ll also need to ensure that you have enough light throughout the rest of the room. Enter table lamps and floor lamps! These are great as they are portable and can be moved around until you’re happy. They’re also individually switched, so you can have all the lights on when you need them and turn some off when you want a more relaxed ambience in the room.
Many of our ceiling lights will have matching wall lights, table lamps and floor lamps so these are a great place to start. If not, it’s best to team the metal tones together to keep a cohesive look in the room, or you can use lamp shades to team the colours together.
Read our next blog for part 2, exploring how we can hone our style to compliment our homes and ourselves…