The scene was quirky enough to be comedic: I was paying a visit to a friend's new home one evening. Situated in a heavily treed area at the end of a long driveway, and filled with floor-to-ceiling windows, wood floors and lots of nooks and crannies, this quaint cottage was architecturally fascinating. The furnishings fit the surroundings: eclectic, an assortment of antiques, richly colored rugs and old books stuffed haphazardly into the shelves on the wall ... at least, I think that's what I saw. Since it was already dark when I arrived, one would have expected to see a few lights on. Instead, I shuffled carefully through a dimly lit living room with almost no lighting present. To compensate for the absence of lamps, my friend opened the front door to her home to let the porch light flood into the living room. Great idea ... if it weren't December. I sat huddled near her fireplace for the remainder of the evening, wondering what her aversion to light sources might be.

Have you ever entered a home filled with expensive furnishings, but its rooms were so dim you had to squint to enjoy your surroundings? Or perhaps, during a friend's party, she felt the need to light up her home like a Christmas tree. So much electricity was pumping through the house, you could hear it humming. You couldn't help thinking that turning off a few overhead lights here and there might create a better mood. At the least, she'd save a few dollars off her next electricity bill.

Most would say that lighting isn't terribly important, but any homeowner who pays large amounts of money for furnishings, renovations (not to mention mortgage payments) should consider it. The most humble surroundings can seem inviting with the right lighting conditions; and on the other side of the coin, palatial surroundings can seem heavy-handed under the heat and brightness of excessive lighting.

The majority of consumers shopping for lighting are looking for indirect light sources (also called "ambient" lighting). Indirect lighting creates a mood, and it can also make all the difference in how welcome your family and your guests feel in your home. Typical ambient light sources include torchiere lamps, which have become increasingly popular and which reflect light off the ceiling; wall fixtures that shade bright light behind decorative plates; and table lamps with translucent shades made of heavy or darker-colored material to help absorb excessive light.

Direct lighting, on the other hand, serves a specific purpose: It helps you see the tasks at hand. Whether it's a reading lamp in the living room, a desk lamp in the office or a fluorescent light over the kitchen sink, a direct light source is designed to preserve your eyesight while allowing you to perform detail-oriented tasks. Halogen lamps, one such example of direct lighting, grew in popularity during the '90s. While they're often more expensive than traditional light sources, they last considerably longer and are particularly good for office use because many halogen lamps allow consumers to adjust the level of light they receive. In contrast to indirect light sources, which often have translucent shades to allow light to diffuse outward, direct light sources often have opaque shades. Consider a metal swing-arm desk lamp, for example. While it's not aesthetically pleasing, this light source concentrates all of its brightness onto the surface below.

Another variety of lighting, accent lighting, draws attention to a specific item in your home: a painting, sculpture, or any other decorative piece of architectural feature worthy of presentation. One of the most common accent light sources is track lighting, placed along floor boards to cast light upwards; or downward-slanted cannister lights to show off a painting or spectacular vase, for example. Interior designers often recommend that homeowners use accent lighting sparingly. The presence of too many accent light sources can create too much confusion in a room; guests don't know what to look at first, and the room becomes too "busy" and distracting.

If you're on the hunt for light sources for your home, you'll want to remember a few tips before heading to the nearest home-improvement store. Keep in mind that your kitchen is a room in which you'll be performing tasks of great detail -- chopping, slicing, reading the temperature on your oven, reading the newspaper at breakfast, writing down a phone number when someone calls, etc. While it's fine to place a small lamp or other indirect light source on a shelf, your primary focus should be on direct light sources. Kitchens can be visually appealing, of course, but their functionality is what matters most.

When shopping for chandeliers or other light fixtures that will be placed above your kitchen or dining room table, be sure to purchase a dimmer. You use these areas for a variety of reasons -- to help your children with their homework (a task that requires brighter lights), or to entertain friends over dinner (during which you might want to dim the lights slightly). When hanging these light fixtures, remember to place them low enough to create the desired effect, but not so low as to obstruct your vision across the table or cause everyone who stands up to hit their heads.

When shopping for your bathroom, purchase light fixtures to be placed alongside or above your vanity mirror. The fluorescent light on your ceiling isn't enough. The daily process of applying makeup, drying or brushing hair requires more light than your ceiling fixture will cast. A small lamp placed on your vanity and illuminated in addition to your fluorescent light can help to flatter your appearance and create an environment of warmth for guests.

When shopping for your living and bedroom areas, you can be more creative; but keep in mind that any lamp you intend to use as a light source for reading should have a wattage of at least 100 (the recommendation most optometrists and opthamologists will give their patients). And don't tempt fate with fire hazards; make sure any lamp you purchase will permit bulbs of 100 watts before you head to the register.

Lighting is often forgotten in homeowners' excitement about furnishings, window coverings and accessories. And yet, it can make all of the difference between a mediocre-looking home and an environment that makes guests want to kick off their shoes and stay a while. Most important, good lighting makes good sense for your vision. The next time you study your home with a critical eye, consider that a lamp might be the only thing that's missing -- and not an expensive leather sofa or glass table. It's an investment that could protect not only your eyesight, but also your bank account.

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Published: February 2, 2000

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