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Look your best! Creating flattering lighting in your spaces

Residential design, Kansas City interior designer, Kansas City interior design, Kansas City interior design firm, KC home builder, Kansas City custom home builder, KC home design, Kansas city design firm, KC remodelers, Remodelers in Kansas City, entry design, glass railing, entryway design, modern entry design, metal railing, entry design ideas, dining room ideas, remodel dining room, custom home building, dining room design, clear chairs, ghost chairs, entry light

Look your best! Creating flattering lighting in your spaces

February 10, 2021

There is nothing quite like wonderful lighting to make us look our very best.  Think of a sunset… can we please just carry that fabulous lighting around with us all the time?  Those rich, golden tones that make our skin look so radiant!  In our studio, our designers use a lot of tricks to light our client’s spaces up beautifully…  for parties, family game night, reading, assembling puzzles, cooking, night safety… each taken into consideration when designing lighting plans.

1. Your bulb 

The new “day” light bulbs have the blue tint to them, which, in general, is not so flattering to our skin. Instead, keeping the temperature around 2700K can help create a warmer, more skin loving  glow.  Try and avoid fluorescent bulbs like CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) at all costs. The light they emit is poor quality and casts a murky greenish haze.  Such information can be found on the bulb packaging.

Mission Hills Kansas Living Room Art Statement Traditional
Mission Hills Kansas Living Room

2.  Types of ceiling fixtures

We love to use wall washing light fixtures to bathe walls and create a gentle glow.  Picture lights can be wonderful, too and add to the yummy layers of light.  Picture lights may either attach to the wall or the art piece itself and can take a bulb as small as a 4 watt and create a wonderful nightlight.
Mission Hills Kansas Bathroom Lime Green Quartz Wallcovering Pendants Vessel Sink Wall Hung Vanity
Mission Hills Kansas Bathroom Lime Green Quartz Wallcovering Pendants Vessel Sink Wall Hung Vanity
3.  Layer your light
One type of light fixture in a room is really not enough to create flattering light, as it will cause shadows on our faces.  Layering light with two or more types of fixtures is not only much more beautiful, it is much easier to see what you might be doing.  For example, chandeliers and table lamps on at the same time can help add this depth and dimension.  Table lamps are essential!  Bringing the light down even lower truly creates the most flattering light for our faces.  Our favorite lighting for entertaining?  Have all fixtures (maybe not the recessed cans) on and set to “low.”  It is a beautiful glow and with the right light temperature from the bulbs, make you and your guests look their best and feel warm inside!

4.   Dimmers

One of the best tricks is simply to use dimmer switches on all lighting.  They can be inexpensive and easy to install.   The look they give can be a night and day difference and make controlling your environment a snap.  Digital controls can make this very convenient and are a fantastic solution we use frequently.

5.  Candles!

Don’t forget about the wonderful glow of candles.  They really are a must when serving guests a lovely meal.  By radiating the glow up onto your face, you add yet another layer that light fixtures simply can’t mimic.

 

About Tran + Thomas

Built on the foundation of a 30-year, family-owned Interior Design business, Jill Tran and Carmen Thomas opened Tran + Thomas Design Studio in 2011 bringing a combined 36 years of experience to their projects. They work on both residential and commercial projects across several styles. Interested in their services? Call (913) 268-9595 or schedule a consultation below.

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