8 Stylish and Modern Home Lighting Options

Functionality and beauty come together in these shining examples of the latest trends in lighting

Beyond simply bringing light into a dark room, home lighting fixtures add character, complement design aesthetics and set the mood of the space they illuminate. With the right lighting, kitchens become bright and open, living rooms and bedrooms become warm and cozy, and hallways and entrances exude a welcoming aura.

The variety of lighting styles available offers something for every space, budget and taste, so try these eight styles on for size.

Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting is a subtle and elegant way to light almost any space. Installed directly into the ceiling via potholes, the lights are small, discrete fixtures that work well with any design scheme. They are also incredibly versatile because you can install as many as you need to illuminate a room. This is why recessed lighting is increasingly being used to brighten spaces that are too big for a single fixture.

Pendants / Drop Lights

Pendant lighting is an eye-catching way to make your household fixtures a key part of your design style. These lights come in an abundance of shapes, sizes and colours. They can be installed in sets, or as single fixtures, and this versatility has made them popular for kitchens, over islands, or in dining rooms, over tables. Beyond their visual appeal, droplights are functional as well. Their proximity to counters and tabletops helps people see what they’re doing – cooking, reading, eating – while delicately illuminating the space around them.

Spotlights

Spotlights address the specific needs of a room – highlighting statement pieces such as photographs, sculptures, paintings or even household greenery. They are often installed as recessed bulbs or miniature pendants placed above the piece they are meant to illuminate. They have no distinct design aesthetic in and of themselves, which makes spotlights an easy complement to other lighting styles in a room.

Ceiling Lighting

Ceiling lights are fixtures, typically in the centre of a room with the lampshade attached close to the ceiling. Because they don’t fall directly into view, like pendant lights, they emanate a softer glow from above, making them suitable for bathrooms, bedrooms and hallways. Although shades can be found in a variety of styles, they offer a more subtle design choice, complementing the overall design scheme, rather than making a statement themselves.

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are great way to bring warmth and character into a space. Usually seen in pairs, they add a sense of balance to a room, especially when used to frame mirrors, headboards or doorways. Hallways and entrance foyers are also excellent areas for sconces, both to brighten and colour these hard-to-decorate spaces. Available in a wealth of styles, there is bound to be a pair that will match your design aesthetic.

Chandeliers

Although you might at first conjure up images of extravagantly bejeweled crystal lighting fixtures reserved for grand palatial entranceways, chandeliers are cropping up in home designs that range from the modern to the eclectic. Although the classic crystal-style chandelier is still a favourite, funkier more contemporary designs are on the rise. Whatever the style, they remain an exceptional piece of statement lighting typically found in dining areas, where dimming features mimic the intimacy of candlelight, but also in kitchens, bedrooms and even bathrooms. Chandeliers have been reinvented to satisfy an ever-changing visual appetite.

Cabinetry Lighting

Whether installed within or below a cabinet, this lighting style has become popular and practical in kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms. When installed within a cabinet, this style serves a more decorative purpose. Illuminating your glass or tableware from within is a beautiful way to transform your collection into a dazzling piece of art. In living rooms, lighting up cabinetry is an easy way to highlight memorabilia, books or movies on display. When installed below a cabinet, this design is a functional way to illuminate countertops usually lost in the shadow of the cupboard above.

Track Lighting

Track lighting is excellent for rooms that are low on light and tight on space. It offers a sleek and modern way to illuminate areas by stringing bulbs along a wire track across the ceiling. Available in any length and in a variety of styles and colours, track lights can bring character as well as functionality to a room. Although great for smaller areas, that should not dissuade their use in larger rooms as well, where they can be a subtle complement to other lighting styles.