Sea Cliff HideawayTraditional Dining Room, San Francisco

1. Lighting Designers Know How to Make Spaces Beautiful and Functional Good lighting can enhance interior design and highlight a home’s architectural features. Lighting designers use a variety of tools — from recessed lights and pendants to wall sconces, task lighting and directional lights that highlight art — to get the desired effect in a home. Their work goes well beyond just simple overhead lighting and involves building an entire layered lighting scheme for a space. This story on the five layers of a well-lit dining room shows how lighting designers use their array of tools — much like an artist does her palette — to create a harmonious and practical lighting design.Lighting designers can also help you avoid common mistakes that steal the beauty or usefulness from a room. For instance, have you ever been in a kitchen where the recessed lights were centered between the island and the counters, causing you to constantly work in your own shadows? Lighting designers know how to prevent this problem.When searching for a lighting designer, the most important thing to look for is one with experience and a portfolio of work. These professionals are not licensed in the U.S. and there is not a widely adopted certification process. However, some may have degrees or academic concentrations in theatrical lighting design or architectural lighting design.Find a lighting designer in the Houzz Pro Directory

4. What is the style of your home? Traditional and transitional homes typically look best under 2700K LED warm white, because they produce a glow that is closer to candlelight, firelight and gas light once used in classic houses.

Remember: You don’t need a ton of pieces to create an ample kitchen lounge. If you’re tight on space, you can easily achieve both a dining area and a kitchen lounge with the simple addition of two chairs.

If you have the space, try to sneak the two-seater arrangement into your layout. It's a great way to create an intimate seating arrangement perfect for conversation. With space at the end of this dining table, one can’t help but include two seats face-to-face at the fireplace.

LEDs can be used to highlight architectural features, like the tray ceiling or cove molding in a traditional kitchen.

Seriously comfortable armchairs have the warmest spot in this kitchen. Note how the uplighting, undercabinet lighting, and lighting within the cabinets gives the room a sunny glow.

Two facing wingbacks share an ottoman and prime spot by the fire, creating a perfect place for coffee with a friend. The chairs' wings create a mini sitting room within a room.

only have space for 2 small chairs + footstool

concept for new home hearth area in kitchen