When it comes to home lighting, the choices of globes, fixtures, fittings and finishes are endless. Below are a few essential tips to ensure you get the very best result for every area in your home, both inside and outside.
Lighting for your kitchen
Kitchen lighting has come a long way in a relatively short time, not just from a design perspective but also with regard to energy efficiency. In today's marketplace, which includes buying online, you can choose from a huge range of decorative energy-efficient light fixtures for kitchens. There's a vast choice in every product category whether you're looking for something traditional or modern, economical or expensive.
Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen lighting requires the most attention to detail. Food preparation and cooking areas must have plenty of clear light to ensure safety and there must also be adequate general light. 
The best approach is this:
- Reflect light - Use reflected light for general lighting throughout the kitchen. These lights can be located under overhead cabinets, in kick heads and even behind glazed splash backs. This type of light is much easier on the eye, especially late at night or early in the morning.
- Task lighting - Use strong lights for task lighting. These lights (such as pendant or down lights or directed wall lights) should be installed directly over bench spaces otherwise shadowing on benches may occur.
Teenagers room
Choosing lighting for a teenagers room will be different from a Childs bedroom. More emphasis will be need on the following areas:
1. Study space
For study areas, choose a desk lamp to provide focused light for homework, reading and hobbies. A great choice would be a desk or study lamp that uses a halogen globe without a reflector. This will reduce the amount of heat radiating from the lamp.
2. Bedside reading
Bedside lighting is similar to task lighting. Choose a flexible table lamp or a permanent wall light above the bed.
3. One light only please!
If you have a teenager you will understand that if their bedroom has 6 downlights, all the lights will be on, all the time, except while playing video games & using social media. Save yourself the power bill and either remove the globes or if you're designing a new lighting layout incorporate just one feature light (preferably not a low hanging pendant light, it will be broken in minutes).
Luminaries for indoor living areas
Even today, recessed down lights are still amongst the most popular choices for lighting in living areas, but get ready things are changing.
Modern lighting layouts are throwing away glary down light programs in lieu of reflected lighting arrangements, using luminaries such as wall lights, pelmet lighting and lamp lighting.
Whether you're retro-installing or creating a lighting plan for a new home be sure to consider what you will be doing in this space and choose lights accordingly. Down lights can be used individually to highlight an architectural feature, artwork or a task space and work very well in these situations. However always use dimmer switches to regulate the brightness of downlights.
Pendant lights can be a real feature in a living area as well as bathroom areas offering a very modern feel to any room.
Accessories
Accessories your lighting plan with pendant, oyster, table or floor lamps with unique coverings. You’ll find an enormous range of decorator lamps and shades in every imaginable finish including:
- wood
- chrome
- glass
- metal
- copper
- plastic
- fabric
- stainless steel and more
Lighting that's a little more special
Chandeliers
You might think chandeliers are just for grand entrances but that just isn't so. Chandeliers can work in any room in your house, especially adult bedrooms and bathrooms, it's just a matter of finding the right style.
There are so many beautiful modern chandelier light fixtures on the market, choose one that suits the 'big picture' for your room. While you'll find many crystal chandelier lights that are elaborate, you'll find just as many made in other materials, such as wrought iron, which will look great in plenty of modern rooms.
Children's bedrooms
It can be great fun decorating a child's room and depending on the age of the child there will be better lighting choices than others.
As a general room light, a ceiling mounted oyster or pendant light with a single or twin clear light bulb is a typical choice. Ensure they are installed with a dimmer for reduced lighting requirements during the night. For young children you can think plain as well as fun colours, that can provide a fresh & fun, yet calm and sleepy feel. Have some fun with coloured lamp shades and wall lights, decorated with butterflies, dragon flies or soccer balls!
Shedding light outdoors
Outdoor lighting is so under done in many Australian homes. Outside lighting is important for garden aesthetics and security, and with even just a little investment your garden, deck or patio can become a wonderful extension of your home's living space. If you can't see your yard at night it will limit using it when its dark. Good yard lumination will encourage you to use your yard at night.
Whether you’re shopping for outdoor home lighting options online and looking for savings, or you have an open budget, today's technology offers a large range of energy saving solar and LEDs lighting (light emitting diodes) options that will bring your outdoor space to life at night.
Solar lighting integrates beautifully into garden beds to highlight plants and landscaping features, while solar spotlights and bollards, with or without a sensor, are great choices for brick or timber pathways, driveways and fountains.
Outdoor lighting can include rope lights, garden lights, lanterns, wall washers, pathway lights, flood lights, step lights, underwater lights for in-ground ponds and fountains, bollard and post lights and more. The choice is endless and the costs range from cheap to high-end.
Lighting is not all about downlights. There are loads of creative ways to illuminate your inside and outside spaces by just choosing the correct lights for your space. You can even engage a specialist Lighting Consultant that is trained solely in designing beautiful lighting layouts. Lighting Consultants can be very economical and they can also provide electrical plans for your electrician as well as specify light fittings, colours, tone, intensities and much more.