Instead of buying expensive furniture and decor, you can easily elevate your home through an excellent lighting plan. Whether building a new home or renovating an existing space, a good lighting design can make your home beautiful and functional. 

Before building a design, you need to know which luminaire to use and when. To eliminate all the confusion, here are some great ways to create a stylish and functional lighting plan for your home.

6 Steps To Follow To Create The Perfect Lighting Plan

The best way to create a great lighting plan is by breaking down the process into helpful steps. This will give you a better idea of where to place lights and how to use them best. Here are 6 ways to help you create a stylish and functional lighting plan. 

1. Create A Budget

A good starting point is establishing a budget because this will act as a guideline for your lighting design. 

Adding new luminaries can affect your bank account, whether it's a small renovation project or a big lighting design. By creating a budget, you’ll better understand what lights you need. 

1. Draw A Floor Plan

A floor plan gives you a better idea of where to put your luminaries. Draw the plan up to scale and add details, including door and window positions and furniture placements. This will help visualise how much lighting you need and where they should be positioned. 

For example, if your living room has large windows, you might only need a few luminaries. On the other hand, you can add accent lighting in various places to highlight decor/furniture pieces and seating areas. 

To create directional lighting, you can add smaller lights in hallways and other walking spaces. 

1. Pick A Design Style And Theme

Just as you would follow a colour scheme when designing a living space, you should also consider the theme and style of the light fixture you want to install. With this in mind, you can create a cohesive design that is practical and functional. 

Lighting adds to the tone and atmosphere of your space, so it's important to stick to a theme or genre of fixtures. That doesn’t mean you need to be rigid in your choices. In this step, you can get as creative as possible if the lighting is functional and elevates the room’s style. 

1. Consider The Light’s Function

Before installing a fixture, consider the room’s function and how the lighting will play into it. The main objective of light is to be functional, so the best way to use it is by determining the room’s function. 

For example, in the kitchen, you might need more lighting in the workspace section or low-level lighting in the bedroom to create a cosy atmosphere. 

1. Consider Light Layering

Most light fixtures come in three styles: general/ambient, accent and task lighting. Every good lighting plan should combine these styles to create layered lighting for an elevated space. 

Ambient/general lighting creates general illumination, often acting as a functional fixture. Accent lighting is great for highlighting areas or decorative features in your home. 

Task lighting provided focused illumination for workspaces. Once all these layers come together, you can create a well-lit space.  

1. Think About New Light Technologies

Light technology constantly evolves, with the newer models becoming more energy efficient. Many homeowners prefer installing LED lighting to reduce energy costs without compromising functionality. 

These luminaries also have a longer lifespan, so you don’t need to constantly replace them. Consider these luminaries in your lighting plan to create a design-forward, highly functional space. 

Find The Best LEDs At Meteor

There are a wide variety of LEDs available in various styles; however, it can be hard to know which light bulb works best for you. 

If you are looking for versatile, efficient, high-quality LED lighting, visit Meteor Electrical.  At Meteor, you can browse through the Kosnic LED light line, which uses state-of-the-art LED technology. 

Kosnic manufactures a wide variety of luminaries to fit every consumer’s needs. Here are some of the best LED lights you can find on Meteor. 

1. Kosnic 9W LED Light Bulb

This is Kosnic’s most popular energy-saving LED light bulb. The 9W light bulb comes in a warm white shade, making it ideal for domestic applications. These 9W lamps reduce your energy consumption by 85% compared to traditional light bulbs. 

Since this bulb uses an LED, you get brightness instantly. Despite the high energy savings, this light fixture only costs £2.87, making it one of the market's most economical energy saving light bulbs. 

1. Kosnic 4.5W GU10 LED Lamp

If you want to create a recessed lighting design with LEDs, this GU10 lamp is a great option. GU10 lamps are designed to fit seamlessly into recessed fitting to create an aesthetically pleasing lighting feature. 

This Kosnic lamp uses LED technology to create soft ambient lighting that is efficient and long-lasting. Even though this lamp provides a warm white shade, you can also find the option in a cool white colour. 

1. Kosnic 4.5W LED Light Bulb

The Kosnic  4.5W LED lamp has a high-intensity brightness of 340 lumens. This excellent energy saving light bulb works best for household and hospitality applications. 

The Kosnic 4.5W lamp has a lifespan of over 30,000 hours, so you will save money on bulb replacement costs. 

What Are Different Styles of Lighting?

As mentioned, layering multiple luminaries is one of the easiest ways to design quality lighting. This will make your space more dynamic without the need for any additional equipment. Here are the different types of lighting designs you can use in homes. 

Ambient/General Lighting

Ambient or general lighting is essential to any good lighting design because it provides overall illumination. This type of lighting is important for setting the tone for a space, and it also provides enough illumination for people to see and move around comfortably and safely. 

In some applications, ambient lighting can also double as task lighting. When installing ambient lighting, you must make sure to use lighting that will provide uniform levels of illumination over an entire space. These lamps also provide illumination completely independent from other lighting fixtures. 

Most ambient lighting often comes from overhead fixtures such as track lights, recessed pot lighting, chandeliers, and other ceiling-based lamps. However, you can also find ambient lighting in stand-alone luminaries such as table and floor lamps.       

Typically, LED ambient lighting in homes uses a warmer colour temperature; however, home office spaces might benefit from a cooler white shade for better visibility and productivity. 

Task Lighting

Task lighting is specially designed to help with tasks and work-related activities. This form of lighting is localised and can be found in various sources. These luminaries tend to be adjustable and controllable so that individuals can set the lighting according to their needs. 

Effective task lighting should reduce glare and be bright enough to prevent eye strain. Generally, task lighting is used for reading, cooking, studying, and working.   

Before you select a task lighting for home offices/ study areas, there are several factors you must consider. You must consider the light output and the activity the lighting is used for. 

Some individuals require much brighter lighting for work while others don’t; therefore, it is important to implement task lighting, so homeowners can adjust lighting according to their work demands. 

Task lighting comes in various fixtures, such as recessed or track lighting; however, desk lamps are the best way to use task lighting in a home office. 

Desk lamps should be adjusted or angled down to keep the light on the work and out of your eyes. You should also make sure to place the lamp on the side of your work area to limit shadows and reduce glare. 

LED lighting is a great choice for task lamps as they produce direct light without heat emissions. 

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting is generally used to create a focal point in a room. These lights build upon ambient lighting in a room by adding dimension and can be used to draw attention to a feature or object, such as an art piece, decor, or plant. 

However, overusing these luminaries can create a cluttered look in any room. Therefore, you must carefully plan how to implement accent lighting. 

Accent lighting is a great way to add design and aesthetic elements to a standard home. These lights help create a welcoming atmosphere for you and your guests.  

An accent fixture comes in the form of recessed lighting or wall-mounted fixtures. You can also add picture lights and scones to create a spotlight effect. 

How To Light Specific Areas of a Home 

Some household areas require a lot of strong lighting, while others work well with accent fixtures. Depending on each area, you can create a specific lighting design to better control your lighting. 

Here are some important tips for choosing the right bulb for different rooms and spaces in a home.            

Living Room Lighting

The living room is often one of the most important areas in any household, as people spend most of their time here. Therefore, having good lighting is crucial as it can make or break your living room’s atmosphere. 

Mismatched lighting can not only ruin visibility but it can also turn the area into an eyesore. If you want to opt for a traditional and cosy look in your living room, consider a subtle light fixture in a warm white shade. 

If you have multiple light fixtures in your living room, ensure all of these have a complimentary colour temperature. A bright white desk lamp will clash with other warm lighting in the area. Avoid adding a glaring or harsh spotlight in this area; look for fixtures that give off a softer, diffused illumination. 

Apart from functional lighting, the living room is also a great place to add accent lighting, especially if you have any decorative features throughout the room. Add a spotlight lamp with an adjustable bulb for wall art or pictures to elevate your design elements. 

Kitchen Lighting

The kitchen is another busy area of the home, where bright and clear lighting is important to improve visibility and avoid any potential accidents. In many kitchens, many homeowners opt for spotlights or downlights to create a focused beam of light onto countertops and workspaces. 

If you spend much time in the kitchen, opt for lights in a cool white shade. One of the most common light fixtures used here is the LED GU10 lamp, as they fit easily into spotlight fixtures. GU10 bulbs have a narrow light beam or beam angle, which helps you adjust the direction of the illumination. 

Most kitchens also have integrated lighting in kitchen cabinets and stove hoods. Traditionally, these fixtures used a halogen light bulb; however, you can also find energy efficient LED alternatives. 

Bedroom Lighting

The lighting in your bedroom is important because you want to create a relaxing environment. The last thing you need in this room is harsh and cold light fixtures. These light bulbs not only ruin your bedroom's atmosphere but can also disrupt your sleep. 

Any light bulb that emits blue light should be emitted from your bedroom lighting design. Instead, you should choose warm white lighting for your bedroom. Since most bedrooms have various light sources, you can be more flexible in your lighting design. 

For table or desk lamps, choose light bulbs that emit soft lighting or have a low-lumen output. Also, consider adding dimmable light bulbs in this area to enjoy better control over the illumination. 

Night lights are also a great addition to the bedroom as they are bright enough for visibility but do not disrupt sleep. You can also invest in motion sensor luminaries, which only switch on when needed. 

Bathroom Lighting

For bathroom lighting, you must opt for IP-rated light fixtures. Wet and humid areas such as bathrooms need luminaries with added protection so you can keep using your lights for a long time. 

Light fixtures without an IP rating do not function correctly and can cause dangerous hazards when exposed to water elements in the bathroom. In terms of colour temperature, many homeowners prefer cool white lighting as it suits the area; however, you can also add slightly warmer lighting in some bathrooms.         

The ideal light fixture for a bathroom is a recessed downlight with an IP rating, as it is unobtrusive and works well in wet rooms. For the sink/mirror section of the bathroom, consider capsule lighting to create even illumination around this unit.