Light Fixtures

You can let your space express your personality with light fixtures that mount from the ceiling or wall. Whether you're renovating a space at the office or at home, lighting can help set a specific mood, helping you relax, socialize or focus on work. Consider shopping for sleek island lighting to brighten the mood in a modern kitchen or industrial-inspired pedants for a vintage feel at the office. Antique sconces can help create a cozy ambiance in seating areas. Or, shop by finish to match existing decors, including options for sleek brushed metal, old-fashioned bronze and natural wood grain.

Ceiling Fixtures

Overhead fixtures can brighten a room with ambient illumination, making them a good choice for lighting a general area, rather than just one spot. Blown glass pendants, vintage-inspired cage shades and modern chandeliers can each add a definitive sense of style. Cluster pendants with multiple lights can help cast bright light over work surfaces, from a kitchen island to a conference table. If the ceilings are too low to hang anything that dangles, consider a low-profile drum pendant, which you can raise until it's nearly flush with the ceiling. If you have high ceilings, consider hanging a series of identical pendants. The symmetry created can accentuate the drama of the room's height, and the hanging fixtures can cast brighter illumination than a light mounted closer to the ceiling.

Wall Fixtures

Sconces and wall-mount fixtures can lend a cozy, welcoming atmosphere to any room. Because these lights are Typically hung at eye-level, these lights can often make the space feel more personal and approachable. Think of a sitting in a waiting room with sconces rather than overhead fluorescent lights. Wall-mounted fixtures can make a good choice in rooms dedicated to relaxation or social activities, such as living rooms and bedrooms, as well as people-centered spaces at work, including break rooms and client meeting areas.

Lighting Varieties

You can shop from LED lighting to help lower energy bills, or select lighting fixtures with standard sockets that accept virtually any type of light bulb. LED lights are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, allowing for creative designs such as mini frosted shades and bar pendants studded with tiny lights. LEDs can also offer maximum energy efficiency, using approximately 5 percent less electricity than a CFL bulb and approximately 80 percent less than a standard incandescent, based on figures provided by the Department of Energy. They can also last a long time, as the average LED light bulb provides approximately 25,000 hours of use, more than double the lifespan of a CFL bulb. However, no bulb burns forever, and specialty LEDs can be hard to replace. For sheer versatility, a standard socket is tough to beat. Though limited by size and shape, light fixtures with a medium base, also called an E26, can accept incandescent bulbs, CFLs and LEDs. Likewise, E12 bases, which accommodate the candelabra bulbs often seen in chandeliers, are compatible with all three major light bulb types.