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First, know your budget. Second, if possible, look for pictures from magazines that reflect your taste. Third, collect fabric swatches or color chips for any area you are re-decorating. Also blueprints, a drawing or a picture of the space with measurement are helpful.

Lighting can make a big difference in how you feel about your home. It helps you perform tasks more easily, makes you feel safer and more comfortable, and allows you to enjoy your home to its full potential. Lighting adds beauty and drama to a room. It can make a small room look open and airy, and a large room appear cozy and inviting. It can create a stimulating atmosphere for a night of entertaining, or a quiet feeling of relaxation after a long, tiring day. In so many ways, lighting can make a difference and it does so inexpensively compared to other home decorating or remodeling options.

Lighting should be one of the first things considered in your project.  You may not need to pick out the exact fixture at that time but it helps to have what types of light, the placement of those fixtures and the switching of those fixtures in mind.

Most people tend to get fixtures that are too small and even may place their fixtures wrong.  The best bet is to see if you can take home a fixture and hold it up even if it is the wrong color. Have someone hold the fixture up and step back to the edge of the room and see how the look. If you cannot borrow a fixture you could always make a template out of cardboard.

In the living room, they can spotlight a painting on the wall or a piece of furniture; in a hallway, they can create a scalloping effect as you walk; in the kitchen they are replacing the typical center fixture and providing more functional task lighting where needed; and in bedrooms and cozy corners of dens, they are being used as reading lights. Once you have that first layer down, then the next step is to turn to recessed for task, accent and wall lighting. Define spaces. You can have a large great room and use the recessed fixtures to define various spaces, like a seating area or game area.