10 Interior Lighting Tips

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When most people think about interior design, they probably head straight for paint colors and furniture. However, lighting plays a huge part in the overall look and feel of your apartment’s interior, and deliberate lighting is key when to comes to creating your preferred mood. 

Whether you’ve just moved into your new apartment or you’re looking for a way to revitalize a familiar dwelling instead, you’re sure to benefit from these 10 great interior lighting tips that can help you take your interior design to a whole new level! 

1. Install lighting under your cabinets

Installing strip lights under your cabinets can provide a great way to brighten your kitchen area with special focus on countertops where you’ll likely be doing food prep and similar activities. 

If you’re living in an apartment where hardware installations and modifications to the cabinets aren’t allowed, then a series of small push-lights that can be attached with finish-safe, removable adhesive will give you a similar effect. 

While lighting on the undersides of cabinets is commonly used in kitchens, this is by no mean a limitation! A few skillfully-placed lighting features on your bathroom cabinets or the undersides of your closet shelves can make important items far easier to find as well. 

2. Take advantage of LED versatility

LED bulbs are an excellent, energy-efficient lighting option that can save you money and aggravation. They can last for years, they don’t burn out like old halogen bulbs do, and they use far less power than their outdated counterparts. 

Not only have LED bulbs decreased in price as their popularity has increased, but they’ll save you a little bit on utility bills as well. 

These modern bulbs also come in varying levels of light warmth, meaning that you can easily decide how cool or warm you want the ambiance in your home to be. 

3. Get some classy floor lamps

One of the best ways to use lighting to set off your own person interior design style is to spring for some high-quality floor lamps. Floor lamps are available in a broad range of styles, and come in varying heights that allow you to tailor them to your individual home as well. 

In addition to making a beautiful statement in and of themselves, floor lamps also offer the versatility of being easily moved from room to room. This not only offers you the opportunity to switch up your mood lighting every once in a while, but also provides an easy way to unify your design theme across multiple rooms. 

4. Create a soft ambiance with paper lanterns

Asian-style paper lanterns are a beautiful, affordable way to create a soft lighting ambiance in your apartment. They come in a ton of different colors that you can either coordinate with the color scheme you already have, or use to give a room an entirely new look. 

Paper lanterns also come in a variety of different sizes, meaning that you can either use a large one to create a centerpiece for the room or use a series of smaller globes to unify and soften your space. The paper barrier makes any light source appear gentler, so these are great choices for bedrooms and lounge areas. 

5. Use accent lighting to highlight your favorite design features

No matter which lighting fixtures you choose to create the desired atmosphere for your dwelling, don’t forget that you can use light to set off other design features as well! 

Spot lighting can take decorative elements such as wall art or designer furniture to a whole new level, drawing the eye to the highlights of each room with ease. Nothing says “sophisticated” like using spotlights to showcase your favorite piece of art. 

Additionally, accent lighting can serve to completely change up the balance of the room by brightening darker areas that would otherwise feel too dim and heavy. 

6. Get creative with decorative holiday lights during any season

While plenty of people associate Christmas light strands with the holiday season alone, the sky’s the limit when it comes to light strands and interior design. Countless coffee shops and Italian restaurants have made use of this artistic, romantic touch, and it can add a truly elegant feel to your home as well. 

Use strands of decorative lights above window treatments or doorways to create an ethereal and visually-interesting ambiance while also preventing the room from being overly bright. Some festive lights come with different settings and a controller as well, allowing you to fine-tune the mood with flickering or pulsing light modes. 

7. Pick some decorative wall sconces

Decorative wall sconces provide an opportunity to express yourself through both light and fixture design–and they reduce visible cords and floor clutter as well. Additionally, many decorative wall sconces make it especially easy to switch out the light bulbs, providing a great opportunity to go green with LED lights. 

A wrought-iron wall sconce can lend your home a bit of rustic charm, whereas a sleeker and more industrial fixture can lend a modern edge instead. Whatever your style, you’re practically guaranteed to be able to find a wall sconce to suit your tastes. 

Similarly to floor lamps, decorative wall sconces also provide a good way to unify the overall design of your home if you install them consistently in multiple areas. 

8. Change up the room’s color scheme with tinted lights

If you feel hesitant to commit to a particular color scheme by picking permanently-colored lamp shades, standing lamp bases, or wall sconces, then turn to something more dynamic: tinted light bulbs. 

You’ve already read about how LED bulbs give you the opportunity to choose between varying levels of warmth in the lighting scheme of your home. However, not everyone is aware of all the other colors that are available. 

Tinted bulbs come in just about any color you can imagine, affording you the flexibility to change the ambience of a room instantly. Whether you prefer to change your lighting color with the seasons or just want to make a quick switch in order to set the mood for a party, tinted lights are a nice, easy choice. 

9. Repurpose some classic glass-sided lanterns

If you would rather take on a DIY project than purchase a ready-made lighting feature, then consider upcycling some old, rustic lanterns into interior lighting elements. 

Thrift stores, flea markets, or even garage and rummage sales might end up being the perfect place to find that new decorative element you’ve been wanting! With a little bit of sandpaper or paint and some simple push lights, a vintage glass-sided lantern could be the new centerpiece for your home. 

Don’t be afraid to use upcycled lanterns and some of those repurposed holiday lights in conjunction with one another, either! Putting them together can give your home an artsy feel and loads of visual interest. 

10. Utilize functional lighting for work or study areas

A key element of any efficient workspace or project area is task lighting. A commonly-desired trait in task lighting is the ability to adjust it at will, so moveable desk lamps are a good way to go. However, strategically-placed wall sconces and pendant lights can also serve as task lighting if they’re well situated above your work or study area. 

Task lighting can work wonders in terms of increasing productivity and reducing eye strain, so don’t hesitate to provide yourself with a generous set of options for task lighting in your home. This is yet another area where LED lights can be of serious help, too: bulbs that imitate cool, bright daylight can actually make you feel more awake and increase your motivation in your workspace! 

To Recap:

Interior lighting features can be an easy, affordable, and wonderful way to completely change the ambience and feeling of your home. With the variety of fixture styles, light warmths and tints, and opportunities to upcycle and repurpose alternative lighting features, you’re sure to find a way to give your apartment an instant facelift! 

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