The Importance of Lighting in a Home

Hi, I'm Karin Usifuik and I am so excited to be featured on the Kichler blog.

As a homeowner for over 17 years, and a Realtor for over 14, I have picked up a great deal of valuable information on vital design and staging elements that provide a great first impression and add ambiance to a home. Wearing both hats, I'm going to give you my take on the importance of lighting in a home. When preparing your home for sale, or even planning for a future sale, lighting should be top of mind as one design element that can have a big impact for a relatively low impact on a budget.

Lights On 

One of the universal staging tips in real estate is to "turn on all the lights." Now that being said, my personal preference is to turn on the "right" lights. I find it overwhelming to walk into a home that has every single light on. I find it way more impacting to walk into a home that has been strategically lit, giving the home a sense of ambiance. 

If you are getting your home ready for sale, consider lighting as a critical staging essential. Walk through your home from a buyer's perspective and try to determine where you might be able to update the lighting in a space for the best possible first impression. Consider this from both a style and function aspect. An outdated lighting fixture can be changed out with a new modern fixture, and this can completely freshen up a space. The alternative is that a buyer will walk in, see a dated light fixture, and immediately start a tally in their mind of the things they need to change. It's a negative spin that you can avoid. There are also times to add lighting. Table lamps, floor lamps, or adding hardwired fixtures help you accomplish this. If a room is lit poorly consider adding some fixtures to the room.

Consistent Theme

In the present day of online marketing, Pinterest, and social media, it's so easy to get overwhelmed with the number of options from which to choose. I've been in a ton of Builders show homes over the years, and one of the most important design elements is a consistent theme. I remember this one new build that I showed to Buyers a few years ago. It was a beautiful brand new home, but sadly the finishing details were so confused. They had mixed too many themes, and there didn't seem to be anything to anchor the space. The home was well built and structurally sound. but the buyers couldn't see past the design confusion. 

Now, I'm not saying you can't mix a copper faucet with black lighting or vice versa. It's just important to choose an overall style whether that be Modern Farmhouse or Mid Century Modern, or perhaps Scandinavian, and let this theme bring all the elements together. Lighting plays a huge role in this. 

As a Homeowner. I've had to walk through this part of the process. I love so many styles but ultimately our home in a Modern Farmhouse style home, so I've had to take this theme and roll with it. It's so much easier to make decisions once you've narrowed down a style and theme.

Color Temperature

The final item to consider when adding lighting to your home is the temperature of the lighting. Some spaces suit a warmer tone while others can benefit from a daylight bulb. I know for us we chose more of a daylight bulb for our kitchen to enhance the workspace function while in our dining room we opted for more of a warm tone for ambiance.

If your home is lacking natural light, you might want to consider daylight bulbs because this will give the illusion of the bright natural light that a Buyer might be looking for. This may even require a bit of trial and error.  We made the mistake of trying a daylight bulb in our dining room. Let's just say it was NOT the look we were after.

I recommend that before you start making any substantial changes to your home, always consider first whether there are some smaller updates that you can do which will give a significant impact. It's amazing what fresh paint and some updated lighting can do to give your home that a great first impression!