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Home Design and Decor Ideas - March 2007
Information for Sellers
Home indoor lighting: Create a warm and inviting home with light
Nothing affects us quite the way light does. And if you’re entertaining, nothing can make your guests feel more welcome than the right lighting in your home. Whether you want to add a little romance to a small intimate group or make a room festive for a larger gathering.
Dining Room:
Use more than a chandelier or just one fixture to light the room. Layer with light from a variety of sources to get the most flexibility for creating different moods in the same room.
Using dimmers and layering with light allows you to use the bright light you need while setting your table, and then bring the light down when your guests arrive.
For an elegant setting, blend candlelight and lower levels of electric light sources all over the room. Dim each group of lights separately to create a variety of dining moods.
When using down lighting over the dining room table, be careful not to create unbecoming dark shadows on your guest’s faces. Placing additional light sources elsewhere in the room helps to balance the light.
Wash one wall with light, or add decorative torchieres or wall scones to provide additional layers of ambient light. Use halogen or Crystal Décor bulbs.
Use halogen directional bulbs in adjustable accent lights to highlight plants, artwork, or special furnishings. Colors will really look their best.
Light china cabinets from within, using small halogen or miniature fluorescent bulbs.
Living Room:
Layer with light, using wall washers, downlights, and accent lights on dimmers to create a medley of possible effects – from spacious to intimate.
Place light sources at various heights within the room (ceiling, table, floor) to add visual interest and human scale.
Use translucent shades on table lamps to contribute to the ambient light level.
Graze textured walls with our halogen downlights or directionals placed close to the wall and aimed downward.
Use a halogen floor-mounted directional fixture under a large plant to create an artistic pattern on the ceiling. For a soft accent, place scones on either side of your fireplace.
Light bookcases and stereo cabinets from within, using small-diameter fluorescent or miniature halogen bulbs concealed behind the shelves.
Highlight important collectibles with smaller halogen directional lighting.
Kitchen:
Use cool white fluorescent bulbs to enhance cool colors like gray and blue, or warm white bulbs to enhance warm colors like yellow, red, and beige or to complement wood cabinets.
Try fluorescent under cabinet fixtures at the edge of your cabinets to illuminate your workspace and reduce shadows in food preparation areas.
Light the sink area by using recessed halogen or fluorescent valance lighting.
Conceal fluorescent strip lights above cabinets to provide soft, indirect illumination. This effect works especially well if you place colored decorative glassware above your cabinets.
Consider compact fluorescent down-lights for general lighting to help reduce heat and electric bills.
Suspend decorative pendant lighting with compact fluorescent globes over the table, breakfast counters or islands for visual interest and energy savings.
Switch general and task lights separately, and use a dimmer for all halogen lights to create different moods for cooking and entertaining.
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