Any designer will tell you how important lighting is in a home — including natural light, ambient light, and task lighting. "Layering your lighting can balance a room by minimizing shadows and glares as well as add both depth and dimension," notes Michael Amato, creative director of The Urban Electric Co. "Using multiple light sources maximises the appearance and functionality of any room. I would always suggest using a layout including a statement fixture, a table lamp on book shelves perhaps, and an additional reading light in a nook."
Choose lamps that speak to your personality and, if you're feeling it, invest in a statement piece of lighting for the room. "Often people are intimidated by statement lighting, but the key to a successful statement light is really in its scale, proportion, and detail," says Amato. "They don't have to be loud in order to be expressive. [The wow factor] can be shown in an unexpected finish, clean lines, or a pop of colour. Sometimes that's all the punctuation a room needs."