When furnishing and decorating your home, you want it to be warm and inviting, but also to be uniquely yours. Your choices when it comes to lighting can have a huge impact on that, significantly affecting how both individual rooms and the whole house feel.
One of the major considerations when making your lighting decisions is whether the fixtures should match throughout the house or whether they should simply be selected on a room-by-room basis. As we’ll see, the answer for most people will be somewhere in between.
While the following guidance is a good start for just about everyone, you shouldn’t forget that this is your house. If you want to experiment or even go a little crazy with some very out-there choices, that’s totally fine as long as the result makes you happy.
The simple answer is that there’s really no need for your light fixtures to match throughout your home. It’s entirely possible that you may choose to have identical light fixtures in several rooms, but even this isn’t at all necessary to have a beautiful and well-designed interior.
We would recommend that you aim to have some degree of consistency throughout your home, however, as this can really help tie things together and give a sense of flow. This could mean going with the same shapes or materials throughout or opting for a well-coordinated color palette that naturally progresses from room to room. “A preplanned color pallet can take out a lot of the guesswork when choosing fixtures and furniture for your home” says Melanie Rosser, an interior designer in Brooklyn, NY.
All that being said, opting to match all the way through does come with a few advantages as well as quite a few disadvantages too, so let’s take a quick look at them before we go any further.
By choosing all matching fixtures, you simplify the interior design process, allowing you more time to focus on other elements of the décor. You’ll also not need to worry about ensuring that the style used in one room doesn’t differ too much from the style used in the next and, if you go for something simple and unintrusive, the rest of your furnishing and decoration. In general, most people tend to opt for cohesive lighting throughout the house.
To put it simply, using exactly the same light fixtures in every room gets boring, both to plan and to live with. Even though it simplifies your design decisions, it strips a lot of the fun out of it too. The lack of variation also strips your home of some of its potential fun and interest, and the repetition can be almost as jarring as having a completely different style in each room.
You’ll also lose out on a lot of potential options, including the ability to plan your lighting around the rest of your room or to selectively utilize feature lighting, and may even run into some issues on the practical side too.
In order to wind up with fixtures that complement the rest of the room they’re in as well as the rest of your lighting, there are a few things you’ll likely want to consider.
If the fixtures in one room are very sleek and modern, you likely don’t want something like an incredibly ornate and traditional chandelier in the next. Whilst both of these light fixtures may be lovely on their own, they could make for a rather jarring transition.
Choosing one broad style to use throughout your home can be a simple way to make everything feel relatively cohesive whilst still allowing you a good degree of choice and variation between rooms. One of the tools I recommend using if you’re having a tough time choosing a pallet is ColorSnap from Sherwin-Williams.
You want to make sure your light fixtures don’t clash with the tone and decoration of the room they’re in either. Of course, there is an element of subjectivity here, and you’ll have to consider how any fixtures you consider work with the colors, patterns, and designs used elsewhere in the room.
Lighting can be naturally attention-grabbing, so using something like a chandelier as a feature can really add something to a room. You should try not to get too carried away with this one though, as using feature lighting in a lot of rooms could leave you or your guests feeling a little overwhelmed and take away its impact.
On the other hand, if the room in question has a very busy design already or has another highly noticeable feature, you may want to go with something a little more minimalist in there. At the very least, you’ll want to be sure that your lighting choice complements the rest of your room, rather than distracting from it.
Whilst we’d generally recommend basing your decisions solely on how much you like the look of each feature, it is still an important consideration. It doesn’t matter how well anything in your home matches with everything else if you don’t like it, and sometimes it’s worth breaking the rules to have something that you really love in your home.
Younger children may be very accepting of whatever decoration choices you make for their room, but as they get older and become gradually more independent, they may be more inclined to make their own decisions regarding how their space should look.
How you handle this is completely up to you, but it’s important to remember that a teenager will likely have very different tastes and preferences from you and, in some cases, a strong urge to express them. Since their room will likely be used primarily by them and their friends and will most probably go unseen by your guests, it may be worth allowing them a fair degree of freedom in terms of styling so that they can express themselves in a relatively contained and non-intrusive way.
Whilst not strictly related to your fixtures, the color temperature of your lighting can have a significant impact on how your home feels and is definitely worth considering. Lights with a lower temperature, meaning a warmer, more yellowy tone, can help create a relaxing atmosphere, perfect for almost everywhere in the home.
Generally, higher temperature lighting (in Kelvin), which has a cooler, bluer tone, should be used more selectively, either for particularly high-energy rooms or as a desk lamp in a home office, for example.
So, should your light fixtures match throughout your home? The answer is no, but if you want the best results from your redecoration, you shouldn’t think of them as completely standalone either. As with all fixtures and furnishings, you need to strike the balance between choosing things you love and creating a well-coordinated home environment.
Decorating your home is something highly personal, and you should definitely not be afraid to follow your heart and break the rules a little when you need to. After all, it’s your house, so make it a home you love.
No, generally there is no set rule for matching dining and kitchen fixtures, it comes down to your style. However, designers recommend the lighting looks coordinated and cohesive with each other in theme.
Yes, it’s actually a common practice in interior design to have different types of light fixtures in a room to create a layered lighting effect. Combining different light sources can really set the tone of the room and set your home apart.
Sure, it’s perfectly fine to mix and match fixtures throughout the home but it’s generally recommended to stick with a general tone, style or color pallet. In the end, all that truly matters is if you’re happy with the results.
I have been the project manager for Modern.Place since early 2016, spending three of those years working overseas on the manufacturing & procurement side of the LED lighting industry. Constantly learning and passing on knowledge to others while excited for what the lighting industry will involve into next.
Your options are endless when it comes to illuminating a space. This can be both a blessing and a curse; a blessing because you are guaranteed to have options available that meet your preferences, but a curse because the sheer number of choices you have to make can quickly become overwhelming. But, don’t give up hope! I think these tips will help you navigate the lighting process painlessly – and if we’re lucky, you’ll even have a little fun.
So let’s start by talking about the different options you have to consider. Each space in a home or office has different lighting requirements, so if you know what space you are lighting, that will help narrow down your options. Here is a look at your options from the 10,000-foot level:
Now, the next step is understanding how to mix and match all of these options to light the space you’ve designed. I always tell people to start by identifying the feeling they want to radiate from their room. Here is a great blog to help you answer that question. Armed with that answer – and my tips below, you can tackle the rest of your lighting project with ease.
Layering light is the foundation of every well-lit space. Layers help create dimension, illuminate function, set a mood, and improve versatility of any space. You’ll want to make sure to include at least two types of light: ambient, task and/or accent. Check out Kichler’s description of each type of light and the reasons you should include each in your lighting design.
Bonus Tip: remember to control your layers separately. This will give you the most flexibility in varying the function and feel of your new space after the lighting is installed.
Your focal point can be one light fixture – a stunning chandelier or a unique lamp – but it doesn’t have to be. Lighting can be used as a tool to draw attention to any element in the room you want to be your focal point, such as a piece of artwork or a fireplace mantel. Track lighting and wall sconces are often used to complement, frame and direct the eye toward whatever you choose to be the center of attention.
As it’s name suggests, there are limited physical breaks or barriers in an open floor plan. In this design, traditionally separate living spaces all blend into one another forming one large gathering room; most often you’ll see the living space, dining area and kitchen connected. It’s important in this type of floor plan to be consistent across all rooms. This doesn’t mean all finishes or styles have to match, it just means the overall feel of all three rooms should flow well together. A tropical style in the living room, a country style for dining, and commercial throughout the kitchen will cause confusion across all three spaces. I recommend choosing one style for all “rooms” in an open floor plan, then using the type of light and fixture to create breaks and distinguish between the functions of each space.
I recommend mixing at least two, but no more than four finishes in each room. This is the hardest to do well, especially if you are new to lighting. Before you buy, take some time to get inspired. Grab a coffee and flick through a magazine or browse Pinterest; or, if you want a more hands on experience, go to a lighting showroom and move the actual fixtures around to see what looks good together.
Like I said in the beginning – you have LOTS of options. Trying to incorporate to many of those into one space can cause confusion and discomfort. Start simply with your favorites and the essential fixtures for illumination, and then add as needed.
Tip: create a design of your new space so you can see the total effect of the lighting in the room before you buy.
You are, after all, re-doing your space for a reason, right? Whether you are changing the function of the room, breathing new life into a tired space, or trying to create a new vibe, changing the lighting can have a dramatic effect. A new style of lighting will give you the best visual transformation, while the type of light and fixtures will most effectively create an emotive evolution.
But…
While I am all for trying something new, I caution my clients not to stray too far out of their comfort zone. Light fixtures are a significant investment that can make or break a room. If you are unsure in any way, take a picture of it and hang it in your new space. If after a few days you don’t love it, choose a different fixture that you are sure to enjoy looking at every day. Because it is so important within your home or office, lighting fixtures aren’t a purchase you want to regret or have to re-do a few months down the road.
Considering function is essential in lighting – please don’t buy light fixtures without doing this first! Always start by defining how your space will be used. Second, choose light fixtures that serve that purpose and appeal to your tastes.
Good luck! Following these tips will put you on the path to creating a comfortable, functional and stylish space. If you run into roadblocks or have questions, we are here and happy to help to any way we can.