One of the Secrets to Creating an Inviting Home

When it comes to creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in your home, I'm not sure anything is more important than lighting. No matter how beautiful the furnishings in a room might be, if the lighting isn't right, the room will often feel cold and flat.

So how do we choose which lighting will work best in the many spaces in and around our home?  John Flanagan with CSN Lighting has some great tips to share.  All of the beautiful lighting shown below is available online at CSN.

Using Lighting to Brighten up your Home
by John Flanagan

Is there anything that lighting can’t do? Lighting can illuminate that dark corner or that awkward area of a room; it can be a central piece to complement your newest furniture, and it can be used outside to highlight the beautiful landscape that you worked so hard on throughout the day. Truly, Lighting is the central component that ties your home together, and more importantly, it brings people together. Here’s how to do it right.



Add a pendant light…or Six

The addition of a few well-placed, fashionable pendant lights is sure to add a subtle, yet beautiful appeal to the décor of any room. Pendant lights are now all the rage, as homeowners are finally discovering the versatility and the beauty of these overhanging ceiling lights.


They can be used in the kitchen to highlight a prep station or kitchen island, and they can also be used in the living room to illuminate a lounge area with a glowing reading light.


Additionally, pendant lights are especially ornate and modern; styles are constantly evolving as designers are always reinventing these beautiful fixtures to work for the next generation of contemporary homes.


The best part about pendant lights is how fun they are, as they come in all kinds of beautiful finishes, whether you are going for bright colors or classic stainless steel.



Lighting your Way-Curbside lighting for your Exterior

A common misconception amongst home décor fans is that lighting should remain confined to a home’s interior. However, exterior lighting and creating curbside appeal is absolutely beneficial to the overall appearance of your home’s facade.



Nightscaping, as it is properly known as, can be accomplished in three simple ways. First, light up that walkway with some gorgeous eco-friendly, knee high solar walkway lights. These wonderfully decorative pieces will not only shine a guiding light for those walking up to a home, but it will also highlight a beautiful flower-lined walkway quite nicely.



Next, add a few nicely positioned outdoor wall sconces to highlight that beautiful window or entryway that you are really trying to emphasize.



These beautiful fixtures are subtle but gorgeous and they certainly add to the ambiance of your home.




Last, add a beautiful spotlight to enhance the frontal appearance of your home. The light shines brilliantly on the frontal facade of your home, which is something that you want to accentuate.



Focus on the Kitchen

The kitchen is the room that brings everyone together in the home with a common interest in mind. Because people seem to gravitate to this area of your home, why not renovate the lighting that you have in there?



One easy DIY lighting project in the kitchen is the addition of some under cabinet lights. This is a relatively easy project that is sure to take up no more than an hour of your time. The lights are inexpensive too, and are no more than $30 for a set. The plug-in under cabinet lights easily attach while providing that aesthetic addition to your kitchen that had been missing for so long.



Furthermore, Under Cabinet lights serve to highlight your counter tops and cabinets and from a functional standpoint, they also illuminate an area of your kitchen that would otherwise be in the dark-the under cabinet food preparation area.

John, thanks for sharing so many wonderful ideas to make our homes feel even more beautiful with the magic of lighting!

While checking out CSN, I discovered they carry lighting by Quoizel, the same company that made the exterior wall lanterns and hanging lantern I chose when I added a new front porch to my home.




You'll find more lighting by Quoizel at CSN...




They also carry this same Hinkley lantern I chose to go by an exterior door, when I added on the screened-in porch. Do you see it across the porch in the picture below?




Since code required I have a light fixture just outside the door leading onto the porch, I was determined to find a fixture that would feel light and maybe even a little whimsical. Definitely didn't want anything too heavy or bold in this area. I was delighted when I found this beauty! It just whispered...screened porch and white wicker furniture to me.




Here's how it looks when it's not on.



Hope you've gotten some great ideas for lighting around your house!