Things to Consider

Choosing your fixtures
The choice of which type of fixtures to use is a personal decision based upon what you like. Some homeowners despise floor and table lamps and opt for ceiling hi-hats to provide all the forms of lighting required. This also enables greater flexibility while configuring the placement of your furnishings. Others may find this harsh, and prefer the warmth afforded by table lamps. This, however, requires that you know where your furnishings will be so you can locate outlets close to the location you want to have a table lamp. If you can figure out exactly where furnishings and area rugs will be placed, you can also have floor outlets that hide conspicuous electrical cords.

Positioning wall switches
A most important consideration is where you locate the wall switches that will control your lighting. Try to visualize your movement through the home to best locate these switches, and do consider three or four-way switches, which allow you to control lights from various locations and avoid backtracking to turn off lights.

There are also various Smart House systems that can be installed to allow you to control lighting throughout the home from command modules you locate in strategic places, like a garage entry or master bedroom. This kind of system can also be designed to allow you to monitor and control your home from anywhere in the world, through the use of the internet, while you are away on business or vacation — a great security feature. However, as you might imagine, these systems are an expensive option but, with the right budget and in the right circumstances, can add tremendously to your enjoyment and security.

Coordinating styles and finishes
Try to choose your light fixtures early, so you can coordinate the styles and finishes with your décor. There are so many exciting metallic finishes available these days that make coordinating the styles in your home easy. Some fixtures that have to be ordered, can take a long time, sometimes 8 — 12 weeks, so do your planning early. Whatever style you are looking for, you will find a plethora of lighting solutions through home stores, lighting specialty centers and the internet.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive story about lighting but simply to alert you to some of the options and help you be better informed so you can avoid making any of the common mistakes. Budgeting a little extra time, research and resources on this lighting question will go a long way towards improving the enjoyment of your new home!