Custom Lights

How to Create the Right Lighting Plan for Your Private Residence

November 21, 2023

Table of Contents

Are you constructing a new home and planning its interiors? Or are you renovating an existing home with an altogether new interior style? Whatever the case, it is essential to plan the lighting fixtures.

Having a proper lighting plan is crucial because of various reasons. Firstly, a good lighting plan ensures that it goes well with the overall layout of the interiors. Secondly, it gives you a clear idea about the required type and number of lights and ensures that it falls within your budget.

How to create a proper lighting plan?

● Make a plan for your interior

Like an architectural plan, your interiors also require a draft plan. This helps you get a clear idea about the placement of furniture, lighting, and other accessories.

Thus, you should first draft a plan to scale. You can use a scale of 1:50, meaning 1 cm or inch in the plan represents 50 cm or inch.

● Mark all movable and immovable properties

The movable properties inside the room include furniture, which you can rearrange as per your taste. If you have an idea about the type of furniture and its shape, you should mimic the same in the plan.

The immovable properties include windows and doors that cannot be moved once fixed. You should also pay special attention to the height of the ceiling, which is crucial while drawing a lighting plan.

● Note down the functions of each room

Though each room has a specific function, we put the room to multiple uses. For example, you can have a reading nook in the bedroom or a breakfast counter in the kitchen. The dining table will have multiple uses, like doing homework or craft work.

Thus, the lighting plan should incorporate all these factors. Depending on the functions carried out, you should decide on the type of lights for each room.

● Mark the light source

Once you have decided on the type of lighting in each room, you should figure out from where the light should come.

E.g.; for a reading nook, the light should come from the side so that your book or paper will be well-lit. Similarly, for the kitchen, the light should come from above the countertop so that you can easily carry out the work. There should not be any hindrance in the path of the light.

● Mark the sockets and switches

You should next mark the area where the sockets and switches will be placed. This way, you can quickly identify whether a specific type of lighting can be placed in a particular area.

You should think realistically when deciding the placement of sockets and switches. After all, you do not want to feel around in the dark for that switch!

Based on all the above, you can decide whether to go for a ceiling light, a wall-mounted light or a floor lamp.

How do you choose the right light as per the lighting plan?

★ Understand the types of lights based on functionality

Are you planning to use the same type of light for all the rooms? Then you are wrong. There are different types of lights based on their function.

A general or ambiance light is a general-purpose light that brightens the interior. All rooms will have general lighting as it is the primary type of light.

A task light is used to lighten up a task area, like the kitchen countertop or the study table in your kid’s room.

An accent light is a decorative light used to accentuate a focal point. This can be a spotlight or a focus light that focuses on a decor piece or an accent wall in a room.

★ Understand the types of light based on their design

As you know, lights are meant not just to brighten a room. It also adds to the aesthetic appeal of the room. Thus, you should know the different types of lights based on their design and use.

To provide ambient lighting in a room, ceiling lights are used. As the name suggests, they are mounted on the room’s ceiling. Next comes the floor lamps and table lamps, which are task lights. They are usually installed in the reading corner of the room.

Suppose you have a beautiful painting or focal point in the room. Naturally, you want to accentuate its beauty. For that purpose, you can use spotlights or focus lights.

★ Consider the lumen of the light

How do you figure out the brightness of a bulb? If your answer is ‘based on wattage’, it is wrong. Until some time back, wattage was used to calculate the bulb’s brightness. But this is not the case anymore.

Nowadays, brightness is calculated based on the lumen of the bulb. Lumen refers to the light that the human eye gets from a bulb.

Each room of the house requires light with different lumen. This is because the brightness required in each room is different. While the living room requires dimmable and less bright bulbs, the spotlight in the kitchen requires more brightness.

Thus, you should consider the lumen while selecting a light per the lighting plan.

What are the lights required for each room as per the lighting plan?

As mentioned earlier, each room requires different types of light based on its function. Let us look at the type of lights required in each room.

● Entryway

The entryway should have an inviting feel to welcome the guests. Thus, lights that create a good impression and provide enough brightness should be used. A crystal chandelier makes a perfect lighting option for the entryway.

● Living room

This is a multi-functional room that requires different lighting options. For ambient lighting, you can opt for a chandelier or ceiling light. This provides enough brightness throughout the room.

Do you have a reading corner in your living space? Then, you can opt for a floor lamp as a task light to brighten the area.

In addition, if you want to accentuate a focal point, accent lights like spotlights can also be used.

● Dining room

What is the first light fixture that comes to mind when you think of a dining room? If it is a ceiling lamp or a chandelier, you are mistaken.

Of course, ambient light is required like any other room. But it would be a good idea to opt for a task light like a pendant lamp that hangs above the dining table. This adds to the aesthetics and functionality of the room.

● Kitchen

If you were to name the most active and multi-functional room of your house, what would it be? Of course, the kitchen. Thus, layering light is essential to add to the functionality and look of the kitchen.

Undoubtedly, ambient light is a must-have in a kitchen. In addition, you should also opt for spotlights under the kitchen cabinet that act as a task light. You can glam up the kitchen by going for accent light, focusing on a wall or a cabinet.

Conclusion

Do you want to enhance the functionality and aesthetics of any space? Then, having the right lighting plan is crucial. By carefully considering factors like the function of each room, the various properties in it, and the light source, you can draft a lighting scheme that provides both functionalities and enhances the ambiance.