Turn Your Condo Into A Well-Lit Abode With These Wonderful Lighting Ideas

Condo residents are always in a conundrum when it comes to selecting light fixtures that make up for the minimal floor space and lack of natural light, and make the condo come off as spacious. To give your condo a well-lit makeover, here are a few expert tips on choosing the best light fixtures for your space.

Incorporate Eye-Catching Ceiling Fixtures

Incorporate a bold ceiling fixture to make your space seem open and draw your attention upward. A large, over-scale, ceiling fixture can add drama and illumination, and make the space appear bigger than it actually is. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t incorporate other forms of lighting as well. If your condo doesn’t get enough sunlight, ceiling fixtures don’t suffice as standalones.

According to an expert at Toronto Condo Team, “ceiling lights, when supplemented by other forms of lighting, can brighten up the whole room. But a standalone ceiling fixture accomplishes nothing to enhance your room.

Introduce Overhead Lighting And Sconces For A Powder Room

It can be a tough nut to crack to choose a lighting source for the cramped powder room, but slim sconces work best for such spaces. The main problem is lighting around the vanity areas in such a small place as a powder room. Even worse, most people forgo the sconce altogether when there is only a skinny patch of wall, and instead only go for overhead lighting. The problem however is that when you have a single source of overhead lighting, it can come off as overpowering and harsh, which can make the space feel even smaller. Incorporating a sconce with natural light, lamp, and overhead lighting, can make any space appear welcoming and restore its balance."

Choose Your Lampshades Wisely

If you are one to go for lampshades, know that they are much more than simple decorative accents. Your choice of lamp shades can make all the difference in the quality and hue of light that you get from your lamp. Therefore, you need to determine your lighting goal before choosing a shade. For instance, darker lamp shades keep the light localized so that it only shines around the lamp, while lighter shades allow light to flow freely out into the room and light up a bigger area.

On the other hand, you can completely skimp on lampshades altogether. For instance, if lamps are your main source of lighting in a room, why not ditch the traditional shades and go for mesh shades or glass shades. How about the Edison-style lighting that leaves the bulb exposed to fill a room with light.

Warm Up To Incandescent Light

The lighting arrangement of your home should make it appear welcoming and bright, not cold and bleak like you are sitting in some sterile hospital room. To flood your home with cozy and warm lights, incorporate more bulbs that radiate a soft, yellowish glow. Not only does it create a warmer ambiance, it also sends signals to your body to relax for better sleep at night. This is due to the fact that blue light can suppress melatonin, a substance which gives you a good night sleep. Now you know why iphone’s “Night Shift” mode makes your iPhone's light warmer after dark. Incandescent bulbs fit the bill here, since they emit a perfect soft, yellow glow.

Think About Task Lighting  

We are mostly concerned about the overall brightness in the room when looking up light fixtures, but what about those areas of a room where you need focused light for specific tasks, such as your workstation, kitchen island, or atop a reading desk. When we talk about cramped condo kitchens, task lighting becomes all the more important. Sufficient lights under the cabinets will allow you to see the tasks at hand on counters.

Put Up Mirrors

Well, while we already know that mirrors can create the illusion of space, but what most people don’t know is that mirrors placed directly across from windows help to reflect light around the room, making a room appear bigger and giving the illusion of more windows.

Go Vertical With Floor Lamps

Take advantage of height to make up for the lesser square footage. Condos that are pressed for space can really benefit from full length floor lamps, since they flood the room with light without needing any tablespace or cluttering up your house. Perhaps you can choose a multitasking lamp to get the most out of your fixtures, for instance, one with a torchiere top and a task light somewhere along its length. These are also the best option for covering those narrow corners of the room where nothing else seems to fit. Placing floor lamps in otherwise dim nooks and crannies can help disperse light in the room and brighten up the room.