It is a Matter of Balance

Many homes built in the past 20-30 years did not put central lighting fixtures in many rooms , such as the living-room, bedrooms, and dens or studios (now called "the home office). Unless homeowners are willing to have wires threaded through ceilings and new switches installed, home stagers are going to have to work with what you have. That means floor lamps, table lamps, buffet lamps, plug-in night lights with decorative shades, up-lights and the like. Most of these come with cords. Cords are ugly. Not only ugly, but potentially dangerous and you can not put them in a walk path over or under a rug. NO, NO!!!!

• So when strategically planning that perfect furniture arrangement - you need to consider where the wall outlets are. Better to scope them out before the furniture placements starts.

• While natural light is always a wonder to uncover - I will go against the flow and state "Maybe, don't turn on every light in the house."

photo: Flickr

• Lighting helps set the mood for a room's perceived use. Some overhead lighting such as the older style fluorescents can be quite harsh. It is hard to look good in that light, unless you are under the age of 2.

• I am not advocating that rooms be dimly lit either. People need to see what is for sale or they will wonder what is being hidden. Low light may work for a romantic candle light dinner, but not for a home showing.

• For rooms in which you may want to lower the lights down low - dimmers are a modern wonder. You will wonder what you did without them.

• You need a balance of light from whatever sources you can put in a room. A variety of light sources is the best and well thought out light placement will play up architectural details, angles, and put each room in a flattering glow. For example: rope lights along the top of a kitchen cupboard pulls the eye up and vaults the space. An up-light on a corner tall plant gives interest to that space. A small lamp on a kitchen counter or a plug -in decorative night light will do the trick there.

As with most things in life it comes down to a matter of balance.