If there’s one design element that I obsess over the most, it’s lighting. Lighting can honestly make or break a space and I’m not being dramatic (for once). We won’t get into lighting specifics like temperature, wattage, kelvin, etc. We can save that for another day. Today, I want to hopefully inspire you to have a little more fun with lighting.
So, what are some ways you can experiment with lighting? That’s a great question. First, think of how you can use different types of lighting in somewhat unexpected ways. For example, using a pendant light as a wall sconce. Now why would you do this? Couple reasons. If you’re like myself, you don’t always want to go with the standard route like a vanity light in a bathroom but maybe you don’t have the budget or space to add new electrical anywhere else. Using the existing electrical box for the pendant light gives you the option to then swag it up to the ceiling and then hover over the vanity where you’d like it to! Sound familiar? That would be because I did it in my primary bathroom.
Another design I’ve seen and loved, is using a semi-flush mount fixture as a wall sconce. It can both fill up a larger wall space without being too overwhelming while also being functional at the same time. I’ve wanted to do this somewhere ever since I saw Leanne Ford do this in her nursery a few years back.
Depending on the fixture, it can serve close to an actual wall sconce and provide lighting elsewhere in the room that it could replace a table lamp. This would be a perfect solution if you were tight on space and didn’t want to fill the room with extra furniture.
I’ve also been a big believer in using flush or semi-flush mounts instead of can or recess lighting. The flush mounts just add an extra layer of interest and design to the ceiling, which is usually an area that gets overlooked the most when designing a room. They also will provide a softer, ambient light in the room and that is always my preferred mood.
Similarly, you can use smaller pendants instead of can lights to bring the lighting down more towards a surface and the eye can stay focused on a particular sight level in a space. They also can help frame out and define a space. Overall, it’s just a more interesting look that doesn’t require a lot to achieve, so why not?!
Lastly, this one isn’t anything mind blowing, but I think it’s worth noting since I’m planning to do this in my own home soon (or at some point) but using smaller lighting fixtures to be used as more of layering detail. My basic rule of thumb for lighting, is that each room should have at least 3 light sources and ideally at different heights like ceiling, table, mid-level. This allows you to give more control of the lighting in your space so you can have it be brighter or dimmer depending on what you need at any given time.
You can do this through wall sconces that aren’t strictly needed to a illuminate a certain area but more to add extra light, if needed. I’ve also mentioned using a smaller pendant instead of a table lamp. Like the vanity light substitute mentioned above, you can either hardwire or find a plug-in pendant that you can hang from the ceiling so it can hover above a table. This also gives you the option to control the height for where you want/need the light to be.
Basically, I just want you to start thinking outside of the box with lighting because you can make your space look and feel more visually interesting without a lot of trouble. Lastly, don't be afraid to putting lighting anywhere you want! I’ll link some of my favorite lighting options below too and let me know if you decide to experiment with your lighting!
As always, thanks for being here!
xx Kevin