Guggenheim Architecture and Design Studio used a mix of diffuse overhead and focussed task lighting in this kitchen. | Haris Kenjar

Designers share their strategies to buy or DIY your way to a calmer, more flattering lighting scheme The right lighting can make a room feel cozy and welcoming. In the rooms where we work, proper illumination can make your life easier. Lighting can make or break the mood in a room. Don?t believe us" Imagine a restaurant dining room: It has soft, dim, flattering light with candles on the tables and mirrors bouncing the warm light around the room. Then picture the same room come closing time when the staff has turned on the fluorescent overheads to mop the floors?you?re in a different place. Curbed asked three decor pros for their tips and tricks to improve the look and feel of a home?s lighting without calling in an electrician. Unify your bulbs. Jenny Guggenheim, owner and principal designer at Guggenheim Architecture and Design Studio in Portland, suggests you change out all the mismatched types of bulb?especially old compact fluorescent ones?with one type of LED bulb. ?In old homes there are sometimes three or four different types of lightbulbs (each with its own color temperature),? says Guggenheim. ?This easy fix can go a long way towards elevating your lighting.?
Pick the right LEDs. They are now the gold-standard of efficient lightbulbs, but shopping for LED bulbs can be confusing. The designers we talked to all recommend 2,5...