Lighting is an important but often overlooked feature of a home, since it directly impacts the functional role of a room; in addition, lighting fixtures serve not just to illuminate a room but to decorate it. When varied lighting techniques are used simultaneously, a single room can be shown to have previously unrecognized potential. That one room can suddenly become a more flexible space, capable of serving different needs, displaying different moods, and serving different functions. This kind of flexibility is really desirable in most homes, because often space is tight, and families need rooms to play different roles depending on the time of day and on specific circumstances. The casual family room may need to become the location of an elegant cocktail party, for example, on the weekend, and judicious lighting choices can make that transformation easier. Certain rooms in a home require more attention to lighting than others. Planning this contrasting, flexible lighting design takes some effort, but it's worthwhile, especially for rooms such as the living room, the bedrooms of a house, bathrooms, and the kitchen.
Living rooms, perhaps more than any other room in the house, require many different lighting types because living rooms typically serve many functions at different times of day on different days of the week. If the living room is used for recreational activities such as hobbies and games or for deskwork, it needs to be furnished with sufficient task lighting to avoid eyestrain with these activities. A living room also needs to be able to have lower lighting levels as well for watching television or just relaxing. Additionally, those who do more formal entertaining in their living rooms will want lighting fixtures that give the room a more elegant atmosphere, such as directed track lighting or a chandelier.
Bedrooms also benefit tremendously from varying lighting schemes. Soft lighting is needed for creating a relaxing and restful atmosphere. Task lighting – small bedside lamps -- should sit on bedside tables to allow for reading in bed. These lamps should provide enough light for comfortable reading but not so much light that one person reading late at night will disturb the sleep of someone else sharing the bed.
For safety and functionality, bathroom lighting needs to be bright around the sink and mirror areas. Task lighting is important for this area for grooming activities including shaving and putting on makeup; it's also important to be able to read the labels on bottles of medications. Lighting in other areas of the bathroom can focus more on decoration and mood.
Kitchens, like living rooms, benefit from very flexible lighting options. Many families use their kitchens as family rooms. Not only is the kitchen used for cooking, but people use kitchen counters and kitchen tables for socializing, eating meals, doing homework, and working on crafts projects. So task lighting is useful at countertops and kitchen islands; the stove should be well-lit, as well, so that someone who is cooking can properly oversee the cooking process. Softer lighting is useful over the dining area, so that during mealtimes people can feel more relaxed and sociable. Bright lights are useful near the kitchen sink, as well, because that way it's easier for the person cleaning up to be sure that glasses and dishes really are clean.
To underestimate the importance of lighting the different rooms in a home is to prevent the home from being as comfortable and functional as possible. Every room in the house serves a purpose, and lighting fixtures that are sensibly chosen don't just enhance the room's ambience but also make the room more comfortable and useful. A room that isn't properly lit is a room that isn't being used to its full potential.