How to Select the Best Light Fixtures for Indoor & Outdoor Projects?

Lighting Installation Service | Eagle Rock Residential Electricians

Any room in your home can serve different purposes. It can be a place where you can work, relax, entertain friends, and much more. That’s why lighting fixtures need to correspond to the room’s purpose. For example, you don’t want to put colored lighting in your study area, as it can negatively affect your eyes while reading.

So how do you know which lights best fit your rooms? Before delving deeper into choosing light fixtures, whether indoor or outdoor, let Eagle Rock Residential Electricians give you a brief overview of the type of lights you can have in your home.

Experts at Eagle Rock Residential Electricians have years of experience dealing with household lights for any room or outdoor yard. We provide the best lighting installation service so you can count on us for your home lighting needs.

Ambient Indoor Lighting

General lighting, also known as ambient indoor lighting, is intended to light up any room in its entirety. These lights provide uniform illumination throughout the space independently of other light sources. Its purpose is to ensure easy and safe traffic in your home, and create a clear overview of the room, even at night. Ambient light bounces off the walls to provide as maximum illumination as possible.

Ambient indoor lighting includes:

  • Ceiling mounted fixtures
  • Chandeliers
  • Wall-mounted fixtures
  • Recessed fixtures or LED downlights
  • Floor lamps
  • Table lamps
  • Track lights

Ambient Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting ensures visibility outside your home at night. It also increases security. Lighting up entrances, stairs, and building exteriors is recommended to reduce mishaps and prevent the risk of injury due to less visibility in the dark.

Fixtures that provide ambient outdoor lighting include:

  • Wall Lighting
  • Garage and canopy lighting
  • Spotlights
  • Hanging fixtures
  • Post lanterns
  • Recessed light fixtures in overhanging structures

Task Lighting

As its name suggests, task lighting can illuminate a person’s tasks in any given space in your home. These tasks include cooking, reading, and computer work. Brighter lights are required in a smaller focal point for these tasks. For pleasant illumination, it is best to avoid harsh lighting that can cast troublesome and distracting shadows. Focal lighting should also have a single switch independent of the room’s overall lighting switch.

Task lighting includes:

  • Desk lamps
  • Downlights
  • Pendant lights
  • Under-cabinet lights

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting focuses on your home’s specific point of interest to achieve the desired effect. This type of light fixture gives the impression of a larger room. Such lights highlight architectural features, plants, sculptures, or a collection. Effective accent lighting requires the installation of three times more light on the desired focal point than ambient lighting provides.

Accent lighting fixtures include:

  • Track lights
  • Wall-mounted fixtures
  • Downlights
  • Under-cabinet lights
  • Cove lights

With your knowledge of the different types of lighting fixtures, how do you select the best one for each type? Selecting lighting for a certain space in your room is a multifaceted process considering different key factors. Here is a step-by-step guide to selecting the best light for your space.

  • Measure Your Space

A key tip to remember when choosing lighting fixtures is to ensure it is large enough to illuminate your space. Measure your space, add them together, and convert them to inches. For example, a 36″ wide lighting fixture is ideal for a roughly 20 by 15 feet space.

  • Think About Decorative and Architectural Fixtures

Your home should have a perfect balance of decorative and architectural lighting. Lighting on the ceiling gives an overall glow and is best to light sculptures, art, and mundane tasks like cleaning. Meanwhile, table and floor lamps are ideal for reading, games, and intimate gatherings.

  • Incorporate a Variety of Lighting Levels

When designing a room, it is important to consider having different lighting levels. Incorporate lamps, overhead fixtures, and dimmers within one singular space. These levels of lighting help eliminate dark areas in the room and provide different levels that create a cozy, warm feel.

  • Note Multiple Roles a Room Serves

Some spaces in your home serve multiple functions, making dimmers a useful feature. Lighting should be adaptable when you want a romantic dinner versus dining with the kids. Recessed lighting with a dimmer is ideal in such situations.

  • Use Lighting According to a Room’s Aesthetic

Select lighting that directly complements a room’s aesthetic or creates contrast. The overall design scheme determines whether the fixture’s style conforms to the room’s architecture or contrasts with it.

How to Select the Best Light Fixtures for Indoor & Outdoor Projects?

 

Lighting Installation Repair and Service | Eagle Rock Residential Electricians

LED strip lights are flexible. They can illuminate long stretches of surfaces, making them highly versatile for any situation. Many LED strip lights provide light in various colors, making them ideal for creating attention-catching aesthetic lighting or highlighting your home’s best features.

Though you can use LED strips in any way you desire, here are some tips from Eagle Rock Residential Electricians

  • Place LED strip lights under cabinets in the kitchen.

LED strip lights are the perfect under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen. They allow you to light up entire work surfaces in bright white light or set the mood with different vibrant colors. LED strip lights are easy to install. You can cut them to size and mount them with the included adhesive.

  • Line the ceiling.

Cove lighting is best achieved with RGB LED strips. These LED strip lights are slender and flexible enough to be hidden in different crown molding styles. You can control Smart LED strips via an app or smart accessories to give you total control of a room’s mood.

  • Line the stairs.

Tired of falling down the stairs at night? Line it with LED strips. LED strip lights can be mounted onto almost any surface, making them easy to install under each step to create a visual of your staircase, even at night, to reduce the risk of missing a step.

  • Outline your TV.

LED strip lights can be mounted on the backside of your TV or the inside of your living room’s entertainment center. Installing a LED strip casting light behind the TV will give you a beautiful outline of light.

  • Highlight furniture and objects.

If you have a sculpture or art piece you want to highlight, a LED strip light is a perfect choice. It gives your art piece a unique glow that grabs anyone’s attention. Furniture can also be highlighted using LED strip lights, making them a focal point of any room.

Whether outdoor or indoor, LED strip lights are the perfect choice for ambient and decorative lighting. With their easy-to-install feature, you don’t need a professional to set up your own LED lighting.

With your knowledge of the different indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, feel free to contact Eagle Rock Residential Electricians for professional lighting installation services for guaranteed outcomes. We’ll help set up your ambient lighting for decoration or practical purposes.