In the hustle and bustle of your holiday preparations, don’t forget about good lighting. Lighting affects mood and social interaction — use it with intention to create that warm holiday glow and all the cozy feels.

The right lighting creates a welcoming atmosphere as soon as your guests arrive. It highlights festive decor and brightens up your food and beverage. Best of all, lighting encourages mingling and merry-making, two essential elements of a memorable holiday gathering. Today we’re sharing how you can use lighting to give your home a holiday glow.

Welcoming Exteriors

As the days get shorter, give guests a warm welcome with exterior lighting that enhances curb appeal. “Lighting is the most impactful way to elevate the exterior appearance of your home and make it stand out among the rest,” says Lighting Consultant Megan Rockafellow at Spectrum Lighting. Illuminate your porch with a fixture that complements your home’s architectural style. Carry the fixture around the corner to the garage for design continuity. 

You’ll also want to consider the walking path visitors take from their cars to your front door. Pathway lighting draws attention to stairs, sidewalk cracks, and uneven ground to prevent falls. 

Landscape lighting is another opportunity to add a cozy look to your home’s exterior. Add several well-placed uplights to highlight trees, ornamental shrubs, or flower beds. Uplights are also a lovely way to draw attention to a home’s architectural features, like arches, trim, or columns. What’s more, new technologies like WAC Colorscaping create endless options for exterior lighting. Control lighting type, placement, color temperature, and operation from a single control system.

 

Inviting Entryways

Distinctive entryway lighting creates a sense of arrival and sets the tone for the rest of your home’s decor. Consider a statement-making chandelier for a two-story foyer or entryway with higher ceilings. If your entryway ceiling is 8’ or lower, a semi flush mount is an alternative way to add style to the ceiling while allowing for a safe clearance beneath the fixture. 

Keep in mind that one source of entryway light may not be enough for your guests to start getting settled. Consider a set of wall sconces for the area around a coat closet or coat rack. A table lamp on a console table can highlight a drop zone space for people to store purses and personal belongings.

 

Cozy Living Rooms

Along with the kitchen, the living room is the typical primary gathering place during holiday festivities. Guests may be seated or standing depending on your furnishings and setup. It’s usually best to use a layered lighting approach to create a relaxed feel and brighten up darker areas:

• Ambient lighting could be a chandelier, semi flush mount fixture, or recessed lighting. 
• Accent lighting can offer a source of light at the hip or eye level, like floor lamps and wall sconces. Accent lighting can also show off wall art, styled shelves and built-ins, and holiday decorations. 
• Task lighting can be a distinctive table lamp to brighten up an appetizer tray or a dessert plate on a console table. 

The ability to control the amount of light in the living room is a plus while entertaining. Dimmer switches can brighten up the space in the early part of the evening as guests arrive. Dim down lights gradually throughout the evening for a warm and cozy glow.

 

Delightful Dining Spaces

Holiday entertaining is about good food with great company. Let family and friends enjoy meals and treats in a dining space appointed with small touches and festive details. Show off your tablescape with a right-sized chandelier that emits a soft glow. Pendant lights are another festive lighting option, with nearly limitless style options to complement your room’s decor style. 

Depending on the size of your dining space, a single light above the table may not be enough to illuminate all the areas you need to entertain. If you plan to serve food and beverage buffet style, consider adding a table lamp to a sideboard, credenza, or bar cart for easier self-serving and drink preparation.

 

Versatile Kitchens

The kitchen is command central year-round, even more so during the holiday season. It’s a natural gathering place for guests to chat, grab a bite, and sip a drink. 

This workhorse of a space needs a combination of lighting that’s both functional and stylish. “Layering is key to ensure you’ll have the appropriate lighting for all the different ways a kitchen is utilized,” says Rockafellow.

If your home has an open-concept design where the kitchen flows into the dining and living spaces, you’ll also have to consider how lighting complements the fixtures in those areas. For congregating around the kitchen island, consider pendant lights in a metallic finish for a reflective effect to make the space appear larger. 

Track lighting in the kitchen is also becoming more popular due to its ability to easily illuminate a variety of areas and surfaces at once. Undercabinet lighting brightens up countertop work surfaces and any food and beverage trays during parties. Rockafellow recommends making it dimmable for even more control. “You can make it nice and bright for kitchen tasks and cleaning, and then dim it down low for a relaxing mood.”

 

Entertain With Ease

Get your home holiday-ready with lighting fixtures that highlight your decorations and personal style. Rockafellow recommends planning ahead and getting help from a local lighting expert. “If you’re hosting a holiday gathering and want to impress your guests, swapping out your decorative light fixtures is one of the simplest upgrades to make a dramatic change.”

If you’re new to lighting planning and need a hand, a member lighting showroom is ready to help. Share photos of your room with one of our local lighting designers for expert recommendations and customized recommendations. Use our showroom finder to get in touch with a location near you.