From the Desk of Clearissa Coward’s Command Center/Divinely Organized
The Perfect Accent To Your Home – Access Lighting
I have a quiz for you – what is one of the most noticeable and sometimes dramatic accents inside or outside your home? If you answered access or destination lighting, you are absolutely right! Whether we are discussing outdoor garden lighting that guides visitors safely to your front door, post lights that help keep a neighborhood safely lit, or porch lights that helps one to feel safe when coming home after dark, they all assist add something to our curb appeal. Outdoor access lighting is not only for safety, but it is also one of the items that make your home beautiful and adds that personal touch we all want for our homes. Access lighting is the perfect accent to your home.
This post was sponsored by LightingMiam.com. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Indoor access lighting is very important to personalize and to give a home style. I think of lighting as the jewels added to the perfect outfit. They just set off the style of a room. Have you recently moved into a new home and want to add your personal stamp or are you are in a home that could use a bit of updating? If so, lighting is exactly what the house-doctor ordered. Another positive aspect of access lighting, and possibly my favorite, is that you do not have to spend a large amount of money to get a large impact.
I was torn between focusing on outdoor porch lights because they can be so versatile or kitchen lights because there are so many options. However; because I need new bathroom lighting in my guest bath, I decided to be selfish and focus on bathroom lighting for this post. I will have to circle back with other articles to cover options for other rooms later. Stay tuned – there are many options to explore. But for now, let’s focus on a room that is sometimes forgotten when homeowners are decorating or upgrading a space…the bathroom.
Bathroom Lighting
- Task Lighting
Vanity – Task lighting for the bathroom is necessary and the lighting over or next to the vanity is the most important. Many times this most important lighting is neglected until you’re ready to apply makeup or your husband is about to shave, and that’s when we have the uh oh lightbulb moment of recognition and think to ourselves, we need more light here. When considering light fixtures for your home, I think we should make the bathroom lighting a priority.
Vanity lighting gets first consideration because the vanity is where the important stuff is handled. Applying makeup, shaving, doing your hair, checking out your outfit. Well, at least the top half of your outfit. When considering task lighting, make sure to keep in mind that vanity lighting will illuminate the head and face and is used for grooming. After the lighting is installed, be sure to use the right bulbs to avoid shadows and a yellowing effect to the skin. What you want over the vanity is lighting that is most like natural light.
One of my bathroom mirrors has vertical sconces mounted on either side of the mirror. The lighting would be perfect except for the fact that they are only safe for bulbs up to 40 watts. Not quite enough for grooming. Luckily these fixtures are in my powder room downstairs where there is little to no grooming taking place. However, I’ve noticed that the low lighting makes your face glow which is perfect for guest who pop in to, well you know, and refresh lipstick. 🙂 They leave this low light feeling beautiful.:)
Shower – If you are lucky enough to have a separate shower and tub in your bath, I want you to first do a happy dance because that is truly a blessing, and then I want you to consider the shower area as your second area for task lighting. The shower is where a lot of people shave their legs and perform other personal grooming that requires adequate lighting. Many homeowners add recessed lighting directly over the shower, while others provide flush mount fixtures and the more fanciful ones provide both task lighting and mood lighting to the shower area. I once saw a shower on HGTV that had colored lights that changed colors to the rhythm of the running water. It was amazing but nowhere near my budget. 🙂 For a normal budget, just remember to add light fixtures that provide good lighting.
Central Lighting – These fixtures are used most often. It’s the fixture
that is generally flipped on when someone enters the bathroom. Central lighting is usually a surface-mounted ceiling light or recessed lighting. A surface-mounted ceiling light could be anything from a ceiling fan to a twinkling chandelier. It all boils down to personal taste. I have been searching for the perfect lighting for my guest bath for about a month now and simply cannot make a decision. Recently; however, I was introduced to LightingMiami.com and I am narrowing my search. LightingMiami.com is a website with a wonderful variety of access lighting and if you are in the market for access lighting, they could be an option for you as well.
Additional Lighting – Finally, I like to have a small lamp on the counter in my bathrooms and kitchen. I leave these little, low-wattage lamps on 24/7. I started this when I lived alone and did not like to enter a dark room. The wattage is very low level, 15 – 25 watts, but I have either a lamp or night light in every room except our bedroom because Mister doesn’t like lights on when he sleeps but the TV is fine-huh? That’s another blog post. 🙂
Stay tuned for the bathroom light reveal once I make my decision on the lighting for my guest bath and be sure to visit LightingMiami.com for a wide variety of beautiful lighting options. But for now, take a look at your personal lighting. Is there a room in your home where the lighting needs an upgrade? If so, which room is it and what do you have in mind? Where do you shop for your lighting?
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*Clearissa
Ugh, I hate the light fixtures in my home! Every room needs upgrades. We are slowly changing all of it. Accent lighting really does play a big role in a rooms decor!
I have changed all but the guest bath. But I need to add a ceiling light in my office and guest room too. Lighting can make a huge difference Desteny. Thank you for reading along and I hope you’ll stop by again real soon. Good luck with your lighting choices. 🙂
Good choices! I actually have a couple of those lights in my home 🙂
Hi Dee,
Do you really? How fun is that? It must mean we have similar tastes. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the article.