Get lit: tips for lighting every room

Lighting plays a huge role in creating atmosphere anywhere, but it can be hard to know how to choose the right lights to make beautiful home interiors.

A good place to begin is by considering each room’s size and purpose; it might be important to create comforting and inviting lighting in a living room, but a home office calls for functional solutions that are more task-focused.

Creating a lighting scheme is all about layering – meaning combining different kinds of lights and lamps effectively, in order to transform how your home feels. 

Here are some bright suggestions to help you get started. 

Don’t rely on a single light source in the middle of the room. Instead, mix and match multiple lamps to open up the space – think floor lamps in corners and table lamps on sideboards. Well-positioned, decorative designs can create cosy pockets of comforting light, making this a place that you'll want to curl up in at all times of day.

While it might be tempting to utilise a light that’s positioned over the desk, this causes glare that can lead to eyestrain. Instead, either opt for adjustable lighting that you can angle – which should be placed behind your head – or a pair of desk lamps. Not only will this be easier on your eyes, it’ll also softly illuminate your face for more flattering video calls. 

Bedroom lighting has to work hard, satisfying a need for bright, ambient light for practical purposes (such as hunting for socks first thing in the morning) as well as offering a softer, calming glow for late-night reading. The solution: team a central overhead pendant with wall or table lamps on either side of the bed.

As they tend to be narrow and lacking in plug sockets, hallways and landings can be difficult spaces in which to layer lighting. That said, they offer a great opportunity to make a statement. Uplights add a touch of magic to any space, while a rechargeable lamp will be your saviour for brightening up difficult, out-of-the-way areas.

If your dining table doubles up as desk space, it has distinctly different lighting demands at various points in the day; it needs to be well-lit during work hours, but transform into an elegant space for evening entertaining. Work out where you mainly need the light to focus or reach, then position dimmable fittings – accessorised with an on-trend raffia pendant ceiling light – overhead. Combine this with table lamps on sideboards to illuminate dark corners.