Good Lighting is Half the Styling Battle
You can have the perfect lounge, stunning dining table, and the right homewares to match. It can all be carefully curated to exactly how you like it. But if the lighting is all wrong, the space can fall flat.
Lighting is more than a functional detail. It’s the main tool for styling. When the lighting is done well, it can highlight your best furniture pieces, set the tone of the room, and bring out textures, tones, and materials that make a space feel alive.
Here’s why good lighting matters and how you can use it to make your space shine.
Create Focus
A well-lit room helps guide the eye. Whether it’s a pendant light above the dining table or a floor lamp drawing attention to a reading chair, lighting creates the focal point.
Try this:
- Overhead pendants or chandeliers to anchor a table
- Add a spotlight or lamp to subtly highlight a key accent piece
- Avoid spreading light evenly across the room and let certain areas stand out
Enhance Texture and Material
Have boucle lounges and chairs, velvet bedhead, or timber-look table? Lighting can bring out those details when angled and layered correctly.
Warm lighting adds richness and softness to textures like linen, suede, and wood. On the other hand, cool lighting can make sleek materials like glass and metal feel more modern but may flatten fabric or natural surfaces.
Tip: Use adjustable lamps or dimmable bulbs to control how much texture is visible throughout the day.
Affect Colour Perception
Furniture can look different under artificial light compared to natural light.
That beige bed frame might look pink in a north-facing room, or your charcoal dining chairs may look blue under cool LED bulbs.
Always test colour swatches under multiple lighting conditions, especially if you’re styling with contrasting neutrals or bold colours.
Add Flexibility with Layered Lighting
No single light source can do it all. Good styling uses a mix of:
- Ambient light (Ceiling fixtures and downlights)
- Task lighting (lamps, reading lights, pendants)
- Accent lighting (wall sconces, strip lights, picture lights)
Layering these lights allow you to shift the atmosphere of a room throughout the day and style it for both function and feel.
Natural Light is King
If you’re lucky to have large windows of skylights, use them. The easiest way to make a space feel warm, open, and lived in is by positioning your furniture to make most of the free, dynamic light source.
Avoid placing large dark furniture directly in front of the windows unless you’re intentionally trying to block or diffuse sunlight.
In summary, you don’t need to redesign your room to style it better, sometimes you just need to change the lighting. Whether you’re working with bold pieces, soft textures, or a mix of old and new, lighting brings it all together.
