The Right Lighting in the Right Location!
So, having already discussed that UK homes have traditionally relied on one central ceiling light in a room, and using what we've learnt about choosing lightbulbs, let's look at some options for the most effective lighting around your home beginning outdoors.
Start by thinking about what you want an outside lamp to do. Sounds obvious but it could be a warm welcoming glow just to guide people to your front door, or to gently illuminate a terrace where you sit and relax. But you might need a brighter functional task light, to help you safely navigate steps or see to unlock the front door. Motion sensor lights could be an option, as could solar-powered lighting.
Living areas - you are best served by a mix of gentle, low level lighting for while you're sat relaxing or watching tv, combined with appropriate task lighting for where and when needed, such as a floor lamp located where you might sit reading or knitting.
Kitchens have been elevated to the heart of the modern home, and as part of that are usually the best illuminated room in the house. I don't mean they are simply the brightest, but also they usually have the best variety of task-appropriate lighting with pendants hanging low over kitchen islands and under wall cabinet lights being standard with new kitchen installations. So this is one room where most people are aware of the importance of good lighting.
Bedroom lighting is fairly straightforward - you need some sort of bright lighting to fully illuminate the whole room when required and this is perfectly adequately achieved by the standard central ceiliing lamp. But you also will really benefit from bedside wall or table lamps to provide a convenient and cosier glow. If you read in bed you might want to add a light that is sufficiently bright to enable this.
Most people think that unless there is an existing wall lamp they can't have one because in the UK it is normal to hard-wire wall lamps to the mains electric and have the cables buried in the wall. However, in Scandinavia it is usual to connect wall lighting to a socket with a plug and have the cables visible, running neatly up the wall and that means you can add wall lights anywhere you have a socket.
Personally, I think bathrooms are the most overlooked room when it comes to lighting, with many (most?) homes just having one all-purpose on/off lightsource. Generally, you want a bathroom fairly bright so you can see what you're doing! This is especially true as many bathrooms don't have a window, plus we tend to use them at either end of the day when there's less natural light anyway.
But a gentler, cosy glow can greatly enhance your bathroom too, whether for a relaxing bath, or to illuminate nightime visits to the loo.
However, because of the presence of water, UK electrical safety standards govern bathroom lighting, so additional lighting is usually only possible when you're re-modelling your bathroom. But I do have a few suggestions if you are in the position to be able to add or alter your bathroom lighting.
Wall lights are a fantastic option. These are usually brighter task lights near mirrors but, if your ceiling lighting is already sufficiently bright, they can also be used to add the warmer glow for tasks where you don't need such a bright light.
There are now a huge range of bathroom mirrors with in-built lighting and some of these have a dimmer that produces a variety of lighting options, allowing you to switch between bright light for putting your make up on, to a gentle glow for a relaxing bath or shower.
The placement of ceiling lights is important too, in order to provide even light in all the places you need it. Downlights are often directional to help you with this, and remember to consider whether you want warm or cool light.
A variety of well thought out, well-positioned lighting in a bathroom really can elevate both the look, and your experience, of this extremely important room.