In most homes, the living room is the center of day-to-day life. It's where you take a break after work, watch TV, play with the kids, and entertain guests. You may not notice it, but much of it has to do with living room lighting. Living rooms need to be brighter, warmer, and more inviting than the rest of the house. Unfortunately, it takes more than a new lamp or fixture to create that effect.

Having said that, lighting your living room doesn't have to be difficult or costly. The trick is to make all the room elements-not just the light-work together to brighten up the room. This includes your walls, area rugs, furniture, and even small accessories. Get started with these few simple tricks.

Use more natural light. The best kind of lighting for any room is natural light. If you're lucky enough to have large windows, use them as your main light source in the daytime. Sheer drapes or frosted glass panes can diffuse the light and cast a soft glow around the room. Pair them with yellow area rugs or cream area rugs and you've got a bright, sunny room that doesn't use a single artificial light!

Combine ambient and task lighting. There are two main types of room lighting: ambient lights and task lights. The best setup is a combination of the two, especially if you have a multi-purpose living room. Ambient light is best provided by wall-mounted sconces instead of the usual overhead lamp. Use smaller task lights on areas like reading nooks, play areas, and the family TV. Just make sure to tie all the areas together. Try using oriental area rugs as your focal point to give your room some color.

Avoid overhead fixtures. More and more designers are moving their lights away from the ceiling. Instead of the traditional chandelier, install your lights along the walls for a more subtle effect. Wall lighting is more flattering and much easier to control. For task lighting, consider getting a floor lamp-it takes up more space, but you can easily move it around to suit your needs. If you have a small living room, go for recessed lights to give it a roomier atmosphere.

Light your favorite items. Do you have a favorite painting, antique collection, or a sculpture you'd like to show off? Living room spotlights are a great way to do that. Wall accessories can be lighted with small sconces on either side, or with movable lights from opposite walls. Combine spot lighting with rugs to create an instant focal point. Braided area rugs are particularly eye-catching and make great accents for wooden furniture.

Use bright fabrics. If you have to rely on artificial light, avoid dark shades as much as possible. Soft, bright-colored fabrics work well for carpeting, rugs, curtains, and upholstery. Limit strong shades to room accents, and make sure they complement the dominant color. For example, if you're using earth tones as your color scheme, you can bring them to life with red area rugs or bright blue throw pillows.

By: Sarah Crosset

Moroccan lighting is one of the most unique concepts for many reasons. Moroccan Décor is generally very hard to find in the US and also very unique because of the different historic art influences of Morocco. Moroccan lighting with its vivid colors, elaborated geometric forms, exotic designs, and unique raw materials is the most recognized symbol of Moroccan décor.

Henna lamps, made with stretched goat skin and hand decorated with traditional henna designs, and at times dyed with saffron or paprika based dyes, are one great way to add an earthy touch to any space. Henna sconces also can add a gorgeous dim accent lighting.

A Stained glass lamp with carved motives can be a bolder more extravagant way to spice up your space. With Moroccan lamps also known as Moroccan lanterns you can introduce a little eclectic in virtually any existing concept you may already have.

If you already have wrought iron or rustic furniture, then a hand hammered chandelier is the perfect option that would delightfully enhance that sense of magic and warmth that only Moroccan chandeliers can achieve.

Tips on using Moroccan lighting: Consider "playing" with different wattage that can help you achieve a different look, experiment with using a candle instead of a light bulb, when possible a candle works best in small spaces. When using henna lamps or wall sconces, use very low wattage 20-25 watts is recommended. Colored light bulbs are a great way to add a color emphasis to your project.

Using few pieces of Moroccan lighting and some accent pieces will recreate a true Exotic Moroccan oasis.

By: Reda Yamani
Reda Yamani is the owner of http://www.themoroccanbazaar.com, a site dedicated to serve as an outlet to the Moroccan artisans and to preserve their uncertain future in the face of increasing globalization and the proliferation of cheap Chinese replicas. Traditional Moroccan lighting may be found online.

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There are three or four basic types of lighting that should work together to light any room, including a bathroom. They are task lighting, general lighting, accent lighting and lighting that is sometimes called decorative lighting or "sparkle lighting". A good lighting plan combines at least the first three types and sometimes all four types of lighting. This article will focus only on the task lighting in a bathroom. In the bathroom, especially around the vanity mirrors, task lighting is critical. Task lighting can assist in performing specific tasks such as applying makeup, shaving, dressing a wound, or performing a manicure.

Tip #1: It is strongly recommended that good task lighting be installed either above the vanity mirror located near the sink or on both sides of the mirror. This is absolutely critical for providing good bathroom task lighting.

Tip #2: It is recommended that the vanity light fixtures installed around the vanity mirror be incandescent or halogen fixtures because this will allow you to easily control the brightness of these fixtures with a dimmer.

Tip #3: Make certain that the vanity light fixtures you select provide more than enough light. One of the simplest techniques that you can use to ensure that you will always have enough light is to "over light" the space and then use dimmers to control the amount of light that you want or need at any given moment.

Tip #4: It is recommended that special neodymium light bulbs be used in the vanity fixtures since they provide excellent light that very closely simulates sunlight. A neodymium light bulb is an incandescent light bulb that has a slight bluish tint to it. The bluish tint, created by a thin coating of neodymium inside the glass envelope, will cause the light bulb to provide less yellowish light like a standard incandescent light bulb and, therefore, be more like the sun.

Tip #5: Recessed downlights should not be used to light your face while standing at a mirror because the light coming from these fixtures will cause too many shadows on your face. Recessed downlights can be used in other parts of the bathroom for general lighting but not for task lighting at the vanity mirror.

Tip #6: Consider installing a small lit concave mirror near the main vanity mirror. The concave curvature of the mirror will magnify what you see in the mirror and the additional light will help improve the lighting for special tasks such as shaving or applying makeup.

Tip #7: An area of bathroom lighting that is often overlooked is the shower, tub, or Jacuzzi. It is suggested that one or two recessed downlights with special shower trims be used to illuminate each of these areas. If the bathroom is already finished, a remodel, recessed housing can be used for this purpose. A shower trim, with a glass diffuser and a special gasket, should be used in these areas. You may want to consider selecting a shower trim with a domed glass diffuser because this shape often gives the most uniform distribution of light.

Always remember that light is the first element of design; without it there is no color, form, or texture.

By: Tom Farin
Tom Farin is founder and President of Pegasus Associates Lighting. Dr. Farin has been in the field of lighting for almost 20 years. He has extensive training and experience in lighting, physics, mathematics and education, acquired at the undergraduate level, in graduate school, and in the field. It is Dr. Farin's interest and expertise in education that drives the overall design of the www.PegasusAssociates.com site.

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Lighting plays a crucial role in enhancing the beauty, creativity, and functionality of any space. An overall need for correct illumination cannot be underestimated as it sets the tone of the room. Architects have used lighting effects for buildings that could harmonize with their designs and highlight structural innovations in a spectacular manner.

It is advisable to consider what types of activities would be held at that place while using designer lighting for a particular area. Individuals first need to consider whether a room is going to be used for work, reading, casual entertainment, eating, or movie watching and listening music, to decide upon lighting arrangement.

There are three types of lighting, such as background, task, and decorative. Each one serves a definite and essential purpose. Background illumination is supposed to compensate for natural light in daytime. At night, this light needs to be dispersed evenly in a room. Task lighting throws powerful and focused light on an area. Decorative lighting is stylish and a bright light is thrown on an object for highlighting it. It can be used to lay emphasis on a painting, or an architectural component, an item of furniture, or a sculpture. Pendant lighting is the latest form of kitchen decoration used today. This is done by taking a simple set of three pendants. A fresh visual experience may be created by suspending these three pendants at different heights.

Some aspects of creative lighting include focusing a dim light across fences and walls, highlighting water features with a specific group of lights or illuminating trees when lights are positioned below and behind them. Carefully chosen colored lights such as mellow shades of yellow or red may add warmth to the area. Leaves can be made to appear greener by placing a green light beneath the foliage. A Nordic atmosphere can be created with white or blue light. It is recommended not to use a blend of too many colors, as it can give a gaudy appearance.

By: Ken Marlborough
Lighting provides detailed information on Lighting, Home Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, Landscape Lighting and more. Lighting is affiliated with Ceiling Lighting Fixtures.

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