Home lighting may not be the most popular topic around the water cooler, but little things around your home, like the way you use lighting, can make a huge difference in the way your place looks and feels. 

Here are some ideas that don't get as much consideration as they should:

Lighting Stairs, Hallways, and Entrances

To illuminate entryways and walkways in a home, ambient lighting is usually sufficient. However, accent lighting should be used if there are focus areas such as artwork or architectural details. Lighting an entryway adequately with overhead lighting, a recessed fixture, or a wall sconce is possible. Depending on the size of the entrance and the number of stairs, Consider adding additional lighting to your stairwells to make them more visible. Light will visually connect your home's floors and make it easier for guests to find their way about the house with the extra illumination.

Comparing LED lighting to traditional lightbulbs

As you contemplate lighting, don't just focus on the aesthetic of the fixture. Lightbulbs are just as significant as the light itself in terms of aesthetic and appearance. The rate at which lighting technology evolves is most noticeable in the world of the light bulb. Because of customer desire for more energy-efficient and reliable lighting options, many light bulb varieties have been growing steadily since Thomas Edison's invention.

According to technical definitions, an incandescent light bulb produces visible radiant energy by electrically resisting heating a filament. Thomas Edison invented it in the 1880s, and it has since been used by nearly every country on earth. According to a study by the Consumer Electronics Association, American households utilize 75 percent of A19 incandescent light bulbs. Incandescents have some shortcomings, including heat output, and fragility. 

However incandescent bulbs have a much richer, warmer glow than LED lights. 

An LED light bulb is typically very bright, sometimes even harsh. They contain a semiconductor diode that emits light in the cooler end of the visible spectrum. While many people think of LED lighting as the bright white display screens of digital readouts or gadgets, technological improvements in LED lighting point to it becoming the preferred light bulb for some areas in the home. It saves energy, and versions with incandescent-like color rendering will be available soon. Compared to an incandescent bulb, one LED light consumes a fraction of the power, lasts longer, and produces the same amount of light. 

We think a good compromise is to do LED's in areas where you need a LOT of light, but where you want charm, like displaying a beautiful brass nautical light, you should always go with incandescent.

Importance of Dimmers

Dimmers are becoming more widespread for every layer of lighting in every housing area, including ambient, task, and accent lighting. If you use dimmer switches on dimmable CFLs or LEDs instead of incandescent lights, you may find that your lights flicker instead of dimmer slowly or stop altogether at the halfway mark. Always speak to an electrician about whether dimmers are safe for your lighting.

Candles? Sure, Why Not?

Since we're discussing lighting ideas for the home, we might as well say something about the original home lighting: candles. Smell, sight, touch, and feel are just a few of the senses aroused when you enter a candlelit room. It's essential to keep our sense of smell in mind when designing a space, which is why the use of gorgeous candles is high on our "must have" list, especially when entertaining. Candles enhance a room's aesthetic and charm. To add even more appeal, they might be perfumed. If the power goes out, they can be used as emergency lighting. Candles can also be used to create a romantic atmosphere in a room by lighting them.

We hope you enjoyed this article about home lighting ideas. For all your nautical home lighting needs, please get in touch with us to learn how nautical lights can best be used in your home.