Designer tricks that will let you see your home in a whole new light

By Stephanie Cavanaugh March 27 at 7:25 AM

Its amazing what good lighting can do. Besides making you look more attractive, and dare we say sexier, it can be energizing, relaxing or simply illuminating accentuating a rooms best features, minimizing the unsavory and making your home a more enjoyable living and entertaining space.

With the plethora of lighting gadgets and gizmos available everywhere from Ikea to Home Depot to Restoration Hardware, just about any effect is possible, and can be done with minimal expense.

Judith Capen, an architect at Architrave Architects in Washington, said there are plenty of inexpensive sources of light that are plenty effective.

Fluorescent fixtures, which can be harsh, are great when used indirectly. Put them on top of cabinets where you dont see the fixture, she said.

This is not just a kitchen trick. Consider fluorescents on top of an armoire, or a tall bookcase, anywhere the source is unseen. Puck lights, little round battery- powered LED disks that require no wiring, are also handy for inside cabinets, under shelves and in dark corners. Its not about an expensive fixture, but what you can do with it to shape a space, Capen said.

It is possible to have it all an ambiance that invites pleasure, relaxation, stimulation and charm and even disguise a few of a homes flaws by redirecting the eye to something more pleasing.

What you want to do is layer the light, said San Francisco lighting designer Randall Whitehead. People try to do everything with one fixture, but you want different types of light to successfully illuminate the room. The best rooms use various sources of illumination to create a subtle design.

The language of light is pretty straightforward. Whitehead, who is also a columnist and author of seven books on residential lighting, said there are four lighting terms everyone should know:

Task lighting can brightly illuminate your desk, your closet, your kitchen counter, or your bathroom mirror so you dont slice your throat shaving.

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Designer tricks that will let you see your home in a whole new light