Let There Be Light!

By far, the most overlooked and under-rated aspect of preparing a home for sale is lighting. There are at least three types of lighting that should be present in every room. They are natural light, functional light and accent lighting. Natural lighting obviously refers to sunlight. Open the drapes, open the blinds, even remove them if the view outdoors can accommodate it. Let the sun shine in unfettered! Given, not every room has natural light. Many interior rooms and bathrooms don’t have windows. Since there’s no replacement for sunlight, I typically recommend light and bright colors in rooms with no natural light, even white walls will do the trick. Once you have ensured natural light is entering the room or compensated for the lack thereof, you can add the next layer of light-functional lighting. To figure out what type of functional lighting you need in a room, start by thinking about what you do in that room? Is it used for reading, cooking, watching television, entertaining, sleeping, etc? Functional lighting should satisfy the purpose of the room. It should create adequate brightness for the room to do what it is intended to do. Ceiling light, halogen lighting, track lighting, and some lamps all qualify as functional light. Functional lighting is at the heart of a room’s lighting architecture. With functional lighting firmly established, and natural sunlight flowing in, we can get to the fun part-accent lighting. Accent lighting serves no functional purpose other than to be decorative and in some cases highlight furniture or architectural aspects of a room. Accent lighting includes, art lighting, bookcase lighting, miniature lamps, Tiffany lighting, candles, sconces, etc. I guarantee that once you address all three tiers of lighting in every room, it will come alive. Proven fact. Let there be light!

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