DIY Designer Lighting Guide

1. DIY Designer Lighting Guide How to make a statement with your home lighting – on a budget. www.dunelm.com

2. Why Lighting Matters… Plain, functional lighting has its place, but let’s face it – it’s boring. It’s just so… functional. So whatis ‘DIY designer lighting’ and why is it worth working it into your home? DIY designer lighting means getting the swish designer look without the swish designer price tags. It means making the most of every interesting nook, cranny and centrepiece in your home. It also means making a statement, but let’s get this straight – it’s not just about showing off. Creating beautiful lighting features is as much about making your home a relaxing and inviting place to be as it is about exhibiting your gorgeous home to visitors. In other words, it’s as much about you as it is about your house, but the fact you’ll wow your friends is a big bonus! Follow this guide to turn every room in your house into a beautifully lit showcase for your taste. We’ll tour each room individually, showing how creative lighting can bring out the best in even the smallest features. www.dunelm.com| 1

3. The Living Room… Your living room says more about you than any other room in the home. Investing in creative lighting is your chance to let your personality shine through. As a living area and hosting space, it’s also one of the most-used rooms in the house, so the lighting needs to be functional, as well as creating a relaxing atmosphere. Go for dramatic central feature lights as well as decorative accent lighting, and you’ll be able to adjust the ambience of the room to suit its different uses. Remember – you don’t have to spend a fortune. Getting the designer lighting look is more about finding creative ways to light spaces, rather than buying the most expensive light you can afford. www.dunelm.com| 2

4. Make a statement Big, dramatic feature lights work really well in living rooms. Clusters of lights provide a splash of modern style. These work best when hung over a key feature like a coffee table. For some serious glamour, opt for a modern take on the traditional chandelier. These kinds of fittings look fabulous, and help diffuse light around the room. There are lots of inexpensive options available. It’s not all about good looks. Your main light needs to give off enough ambient light to fill the room, so everyone can complete their tasks with ease. www.dunelm.com| 3

5. Small living room? To make a living room look bigger, use a floor lamp uplighter to bounce light off the ceiling. Downlighters at the far end of a room create shafts of light, which make the wall seem to ‘retreat’ from the viewer. This makes the room look longer. Dark coloured walls and ceilings don’t respond well to these techniques. Instead, try placing small lamps around the edges of a room to focus light into the centre. This gives the impression of space and warmth. www.dunelm.com| 4

6. Mix and match Use a combination of lighting types. This way, you can adjust your living room lighting to suit your mood. Complement your central pendant with table lamps and floor lamps to create soft pools of light and highlight features like pictures and plants. Invest in task lighting like reading lamps, so you don’t have to rely on the ambient light all the time. Place floor lamps behind the television to avoid glare. Watching TV in the dark can cause eye strain. Dimmer switches are inexpensive, and let you reduce the brightness of your main light to create a cosy or romantic mood. www.dunelm.com | 5

7. The Dining Room… Dining rooms love beautiful lighting, and best of all, it’s really easy to get them looking great on a tight budget. Your dining room will typically have only one function. It’s a space in which to enjoy meals together so, as a rule, always focus on the table. As well as drawing attention to the focal point of the room, you’ll create an inviting environment for those valuable times spent together as a family. www.dunelm.com| 6

8. Fine dining, home comforts Like living rooms, dining rooms benefit from ‘feature’ pendant lights hung over the central table. Choose a light that’s decorative and casts light downwards onto the diners, but don’t choose one that’s too flamboyant or you’ll take the focus away from the eating area. Bright lights are great for family dinners, but for a more intimate mood, put a few pretty table lamps around the room. The soft light goes perfectly with romantic wining and dining. Hang the lights as low as you dare – but not so low that it obstructs the view from your dining chair! Dimmer switches don’t cost much, and let you instantly change the atmosphere in your dining room – from bright and friendly to warm and mysterious. www.dunelm.com| 7

9. The Kitchen… Kitchen lighting, first and foremost, needs to be practical. Kitchens see a lot of footfall from family members and you need to be able to cook and prepare food safely, so bright and clear lighting is essential. For comfort and clarity, you should choose lights that imitate daylight as closely as possible. www.dunelm.com|8

10. Practical glamour Kitchen lighting is practical, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful too. Sleek and stylish spotlights work well as a primary lighting source. If you want to be really adventurous, use bare bulbs on long cords. These look great in modern and rustic settings. One light isn’t usually enough – you’ll probably need to light food preparation surfaces too. If you can’t afford to install downlightersspecifically for this purpose, use inexpensive clip-on spotlights instead. If you’re redecorating, and have the freedom to choose where your lights will be, place ceiling fittings as far apart as possible for a more natural spread of light. www.dunelm.com | 9

11. The Bathroom… There are three key elements to bathroom lighting design. If you can get all three in perfect balance, you’ll make your bathroom a beautiful place to be. Firstly, your bathroom lighting must be practical. It must provide enough light for you to wash, apply make-up and shave in comfort. Above all it must conform to EU safety standards. Secondly, it needs to be versatile, so you can relax in a warm bath with some equally warm lighting. Last but not least, it should be gorgeous. For many of us, our bathrooms are the only rooms in which we can truly enjoy some ‘me time’ – so stepping into bathroom lighting should have a relaxing effect that says: ‘this is your chance to indulge yourself, enjoy it’. www.dunelm.com | 10

12. Wake up to a bright and beautiful bathroom Your bathroom needs to be a relaxing haven at night, but bright and energising in the morning. Nothing is more invigorating than natural light, so carefully consider how to make use of the sunshine you already get. The direction your bathroom window faces will affect how much natural light flows in. South-facing rooms get the most light throughout the day, and east-facing rooms get lots of morning sunshine. You can’t beat lots of light, but with all their shiny surfaces, bathrooms can become blindingly bright! Install an adjustable blind to control glare. If your window faces north or west, your light will be more limited, so make sure you’ve got a big bright ambient light, as well as accent lighting for softer moods. www.dunelm.com | 11

13. Cover all bases You don’t want your bathroom to be bathed in cool, bright light all the time,so it’s worth considering all three lighting types(see glossary). Choose flush ceiling fittings for your main ambient light(s). It’s really worth investing in these, as pendant lights look old-fashioned and unfriendly in bathrooms. Task lighting is important, so your main light doesn’t have to do all the work. Illuminated mirrors look particularly good and help you groom without guesswork. In bathrooms, accent lighting isn’t for showing off favourite features, but for adding to the soothing atmosphere. Use wall lights on a separate circuit, spaced at regular intervals around the room – or, if you can’t afford this, battery powered lights which can be turned on and off individually. www.dunelm.com| 12

14. Designer-style showers Installing lights in your shower can make for some stunning effects, but it’s especially important to make sure they’re safe for use near water. Lights in a shower cubicle should have a fluid Ingress Protection (IP) rating of at least seven. Try using downlighters at the back of your shower cubicle to turn this tiled box into a real eye-catching feature. www.dunelm.com| 13

15. The Bedroom… Bedrooms are all about you, so bedroom lighting should be dictated by the ways you spend your time in this ever-important room. For example, if your bedroom doubles as an office, you’ll need lots of task lighting so you can work comfortably and effectively. Or it might be somewhere to sleep and nothing more, so you’ll need something soothing from your lighting setup. No matter how you use your bedroom, the lighting needs to be able to do two things: help you drop off to sleep at night, and help you feel awake and refreshed when your morning alarm rings out. Your bedroom needs to relax and re-energise to suit your mood and energy levels. www.dunelm.com | 14

16. Feeling sleepy After dark, bedrooms must be sanctuaries. Bedroom lighting should be versatile enough to create a warm late-night twilight when necessary. Bedrooms benefit from dim switches more than any other room in the home. Opt for a simple pendant with a dimmer, and your ambient lighting will do 90 per cent of the work. Failing this, use a floor lamp and one or two table lamps fitted with bulbs that give off a soft light. For a really enchanting look, drape fairy lights around a key feature. Mirrors work particularly well, as the light will cascade delicately around the room. Blackout blinds are great for blocking out light pollution which can affect sleep quality. www.dunelm.com | 15

17. Keep on task Task Lighting is essential unless you only use your bedroom for sleeping. Introducing secondary lighting doesn’t have to cost a fortune – with a little creative placement, your mood lighting can double as task lighting. For bedtime reading, place a desk lamp on your bedside table, which can be swivelled away from your bed when you want mood lighting instead. Hotel-style wall mounted lights on either side of the head of your bedwork as reading lighting too. If you do work in your bedroom, you’ll need to invest in a good-quality desk lamp. This will need a bulb that’s brighter than others in the room, to avoid eye strain and keep you alert whilst you work. www.dunelm.com| 16

18. Early and bright Unless you’re a habitual late sleeper, your bedroom should function as a pre-coffee pick-me-up. West-facing bedrooms that get lots of morning light can be a little too dazzling. To soften the natural light that comes in, try using thin muslin curtains. If you don’t get a lot of sunlight in your bedroom, use a halogen light bulb. These give off a white light that is closer to natural daylight and will help you perk up naturally. www.dunelm.com| 17

19. Glossary Ambient lighting – The ‘main’ light in a room. The brightness and quality of this light dictates the overall ambience of a room. Accent lighting – Lighting that’s primarily there to highlight features, or to contribute to an overall ambience without giving off enough light to fill the room. Task lighting – Lighting designed to help you complete tasks like reading, working or watching TV. Common examples are table lamps and cooker hood lights. www.dunelm.com | 18

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