Deck Lighting

Adjustable Pendant Lighting

Kitchen Ceiling Lighting

Mixed Wattage in 3-Light Fixtures

Dimmer Switch

We've all seen a dimmer switch before but do we really need to set our home lighting on a dimmer? Well, that all depends on how versatile you want your lighting quality to be. These devices be put in any room of the house (bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices, etc.). The beauty of them is that they can change dimmers can change the type of light given off at any time.

In the bathroom, for example, a dimmer allows you to have direct task lighting when doing intricate tasks such as applying make-up and shaving. But, the lighting can be made softer for say, providing a night light so you can find your way through the bathroom in the middle of the night without getting blinded. In the bedroom, a dimmer enables you to change from direct lighting for reading, to soft lighting for hanging out and watching television.

Want some lighting advice? Invest in a dimmer and give your rooms multiple personalities.

Bath and Shower Lighting

Slipping in the shower? Not getting your back adequately clean? Did you forget to read a bathroom lighting guide?! When designing your bathroom lighting, you probably forgot to shed some light on your bath time.

There are many bathroom lighting options around so don't settle. Adequate bathroom lighting should be set up so that it brightens the room without casting shadows under your features (eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, etc.). Install central lighting and, in addition, add lights on the walls (especially around mirrors).

Decorative Kitchen Lighting

Kitchen Lighting Guide: The great singer Pearl Bailey once said, "My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me." It's a safe bet that Pearl Bailey's kitchen had mood lighting. Lighting for kitchens creates an atmosphere, a homey feeling, as well as a safe and efficient environment for cooking. You have recessed lighting with dimmers to provide overall light, and there's a little thing known as the sun. But those pine-cone or rooster wall sconces look so great with your country cottage kitchen theme.

In Joan Kohn's IT'S YOUR KITCHEN, a pair of candle wall sconces enhance a kitchen desk inside an arched recess. Sinuous curves of a pendant light fixture with a white lamp shade echo a graceful flower in a countertop vase. Study kitchen design books to get kitchen lighting design ideas. Also, think back to your own childhood. What was the lighting like in your grandmother's kitchen? Your childhood kitchen memories or even restaurant interior design can also give you great kitchen lighting ideas. Some of our suggestions:

• Homey is better. Wooden or rustic-looking table lamps and wall sconces create the image that, like Martha, you designed and built your own kitchen.
• For white cabinetry and appliances, the more kitchen light, the merrier. Feel free to use kitchen lighting fixtures that contrast with the light colors.
• Choose country French or Mediterranean decorative sconces and lamps if you're recreating a kitchen from a chateau in Normandy, a villa in Tuscany or a house in the Greek islands.
• If your kitchen is all-metal, choose steel or iron finish for your lamps, chandeliers and wall sconces.
• You can't go wrong with a Tiffany chandelier or sconce to add color. The stained glass echoes some of Pearl Bailey's mystical aura. For many people, cooking is a spiritual experience.

Don't be surprised if, after installing your decorative lighting, you sing while boiling water and hear the wings of angels.

Colonial/Victorian Style Exterior Lighting

*Exterior Lighting Tips: "The old lamplighter, from long, long ago..." That's a line from a song your grandparents probably sang, and you've always had nostalgia for a time before you were born. You own the colonial or Victorian-style home so why not complete the period look with period exterior lighting? You don't have to break the bank at antique stores, either. Lighting retailers offer antique-looking outdoor lighting fixtures for exterior lighting design. Check out these exterior lighting tips:

• Try post lights that look like old-fashioned streetlamps to line your front walk.
• Antique-looking black scroll wall sconces paired with a solid wood door (maybe one with a stained-glass insert) will give the illusion that you've just stepped into a Currier & Ives or Norman Rockwell painting.
• European-style lighting was in vogue during Victorian and Colonial times. Try Rue De Paris Collection Outdoor Hanging Lamp above your doorstep.
• A bathysphere globe copper outdoor lantern puts you in a Jules Verne frame of mind.
• In general, stick with pewter, black, bronze, and iron veneers.
• Frosted glass housing with candelabra-style bulbs simulate old-fashioned gas lamps. Your lovely vintage home is now lighted in authentic style at an old-fashioned price—lamplighter not included.

Emergency Exit Lighting at Home

Chandelier Placement

There's no denying it, chandeliers are beautiful and can add elegance to any room. The trick is, however, that they need proper placement to really shine. You can't just dangle a chandelier anywhere and expect people to swoon. Here are some chandelier tips to help you get your great fixture situated in your dining room:

• Center the table directly under the chandelier. This is pretty well-known rule of thumb. To be different, try angling the table diagonally to conjure up a more dramatic effect.
• If a contractor or builder has hung the chandelier in the middle of the room you should move it. Placing a large table in the center of the room will likely force you to clump furniture together, creating a crowded area.
• Put a dimmer on the chandelier fixture to create versatility and avoid glare. Use peripheral lighting to increase ambient light.

Party Lights

Types of Wall Sconces

Contemporary Table Lamps