It is impossible to imagine a home without several types of lighting. Humans have found ways to make and use lighting since prehistoric times. Thankfully, life has moved on and we no longer need to use fire as a light to ward off animal predators. Nowadays, we use light to meet a basic need as well as for decorative purposes. Since the use of electricity became more widespread during the last century, designers realised that light could be used in an artistic fashion and not just for illumination. So, demand for lamps, up lighters and lampshades grew and today it is recognised that good lighting is not to be taken for granted. It can be essential to health and well-being as well as providing fundamental benefits.
Choosing the right type of lighting for your home can be a daunting task. There is such an array of choice that it is often quite bewildering. However, following some basic principles will help you to get a good result and produce the perfect ambience in your room.
Firstly, try to make the most of, and work with the natural light conditions in the room. Different lighting solutions will work better according to the type of natural light that the room is subject to over the course of the day. For example, north and east facing rooms would be best supplemented with artificial light during the day, whereas south and west facing rooms can suffer from glare which is more difficult to deal with.
Bearing in mind that natural light varies throughout the day, using a lamp is an easy way to create an ambience in a room as well as helping with specific tasks such as reading and sewing.
Before committing to a purchase, make sure that you know what you want the lamp to do for you. The shape of a lamp is directly related to its function, so a small lamp would suit as accent lighting, or perhaps a bedside table. Tall, floor standing lamps are ideal for adding light, shade and warmth to larger rooms or a hallway and can also be used for reading.
It is important to bear in mind that the shade should be in proportion to the lamp base. A lamp will look top-heavy if a shade with too-wide a diameter is added to it. For the best results, make sure that the shade is just big enough to cover the bulb fitting and is about a third of the height of the stand. For a contemporary look, neutral colours of paper or fabric shades in cylindrical shapes blend in well with modern decor schemes. For more traditional rooms, a conical shade would work well.
Of course, many lamps come ready assembled, taking all the guess work away for you. Some even come with no switch on them for even more convenience. A growing trend is for touch-operated lamps that you simply tap with a finger to achieve the light intensity that you require.