Think the inside of your home may be looking a little dark? Or maybe the actual designs of the lighting fixtures themselves just are not working with the appearance of your home any more. If you're thinking that your house needs to "lighten up" a little bit, it may be time to contact an interior lighting designer to help.
So how can they make the inside of your home better? It is a lot more than replacing a light bulb. An interior lighting designer can work with either complimenting or completely changing the mood of the room by including dimmer switches and different lighting options. They will also be able to help you pick out the type of light that you need in a particular room. For instance, the lighting that you would like to have in your bedroom is probably much different than the lighting that you need in the kitchen.
The interior lighting designer will make sure that the lights are very easy to operate and that the lights are not so far out of reach that you cannot replace the bulbs. The bulbs used are also common bulbs that you can find in any store (though they will encourage the use of energy saving bulbs). They have a keen eye for natural light versus artificial lighting, and will place both fixed and movable lighting sources where appropriate and in relation to skylights and windows in your home.
You can find a good lighting designer by asking family, friends, neighbors or even hardware stores for names and numbers of ones that they recommend. A good interior lighting designer will not use difficult lighting fixtures in your home with ill-placed switches and cords. They will not use bulbs that either cannot be changed, that are overly fragile and blow out easily, or those that are downright impossible to find. They also, of course, will not use lighting in the wrong area (i.e. right in front of a window).
When you hire on a good interior lighting designer, you will be able to show them a room and discuss the mode and tone you would like to create. From there, the designer will begin to talk to you about lighting options, such as how bright the lighting should be or the design of the fixture used. They will also be able to provide you with sketches and/or samples to show you the ideas that they have. A good lighting designer will not make you feel fearful of bringing up your own design ideas and will support your input. He or she will not try to talk you into THEIR vision; they will be trying to compliment YOUR vision.
Lastly, no matter how tempting, be sure that you hire a lighting designer that fits your budget. Be sure that they have good references and photo examples of their past work, and unless you are 100% satisfied with their finished products, keep on with your search for your perfection interior lighting designer.
