The Importance of Good Lighting

Don’t have spotlights in this room, they will kill the atmosphere. Instead make sure you have a mix of lights on different circuits so you can easily control how you want the room to look. That way you can flick the pendant on if it’s a dark day and you want to see who you are chatting to, but stick to wall and table lamps if it’s film night. Think of a pendant light as the earrings on an outfit and make sure it looks as pretty when it’s switched off as well as on.

You can keep the general lighting low as long as you make sure that what you want to read, knit or sew is well lit. This means a table lamp by the chair or a floor lamp at the end of the sofa. The light itself can be dim if it’s close to the book you are looking at.
Don’t panic that you must have a super bright 100W bulb but just ensure that a 30W is quite close to what you are doing.
Angled lamps are excellent for this and remember a dark shade will focus the light directly up and down while a pale one will diffuse 
it gently all round.

For more atmosphere consider using LED tape along the back of shelves to create a softer, more ambient light which is especially useful if you have an eat-in kitchen. If you have space for a table lamp or wall lights near the eating area this is also prettier than spotlights glaring down over the table and since, at this point, you are mostly eating and chatting, a low light is more atmospheric.

Lighting is obviously important in every room but perhaps even more so in the home office where you have the glare from the computer screen to contend with as well. If you need glasses then put them on. If you’re not sure about your prescription then get it checked, because wearing the wrong glasses can lead to eye strain, headaches and visual fatigue. An anti-reflective coating also helps to reduce reflections.

Finally when you are sitting at the computer you need to ensure that you are about an arm’s length away from the top of the screen and that it is positioned so you are always looking downwards. Keep the brightness similar to your surroundings to minimise strain.
Now that we have dealt with the health of your eye, we can focus on the décor. Obviously angled task lights are best for this room and, as with the living room, make sure they are shining on what you are doing even if the rest of the room is plunged into a Dickensian type gloom. If your desk lights are correct then overheads are optional as it’s supposed to be about work not play in here.