When providing lighting for the home it is important to consider what purpose the lighting is going to serve. A good example of this would be when lighting the family room where you will be watching television. It would be important to not have a bright overhead light that would reflect off the screen of the television but instead have soft backlights set behind the television that provide indirect light to the room.

A good suggestion to get a movie theater effect is to paint the wall behind the television a dark matte color and add battery powered soft lights on each side to create the t.v. as the focal point of the room. Another good example of the need for excellent lighting is in the kitchen. Often older kitchens have the old fluorescent lighting which provides mediocre lighting for today’s chef. Frequently, as the fluorescent bulbs get older they dim, making half the light fade and the light provides a hazy yellow shade of light at best.

In considering light for the kitchen, one should consider bright lights that make it easy for those cooking to see what they are doing. Some examples of these lights include the recessed lights, the modern incandescent bulbs, and under-counter light fixtures that make it easy for the person to see what is happening on the counters. A final area where lighting needs should be discussed is accent lighting.

Accent lighting is an important use of lights in that it helps highlight architectural, art or interesting plant life within the home. Accent lighting is usually portable making it an interesting design choice for many people when they decide they want to change the look of their home.

It can be used in any room in the house to create a special accent piece in the room.