Lighting up your home for special occasions like dinner and parties needs a lot of imagination and planning – if you want to make it special. Well-planned and attractive lighting can transform the appearance of your rooms and make them look bigger, spacious and beautiful. Since rewiring the entire home is impractical and a sheer waste of money, you should concentrate on replacing some of the lights and adding some wherever necessary.

Here are some ideas on how to light up your home for special occasions:

• Patio: The patio is the first place your guests will step into. Therefore, you should have light it in such a way that the guests feel welcome. It shouldn’t be so dark as to throw shadows all around which gives a spooky feeling; and it shouldn’t be so bright you guests will have a feeling of intrusion in their privacy. If you are entertaining your guests in the patio, then it should be well-lit with no dark corners.
• Living room: This is where you will entertain your guests. It should be brightly lit, but unobtrusive. The lights should be uniform all over the room. If a part of the room needs special focus, then a slightly brighter light or a differently colored light can be used to illuminate that area. You can also illuminate your living room with candles placed in cute candle holders. These give an air of romance and old world charm to your function.
• Dining room: If you will be serving dinner in your dining room, then you should pay special attention to the lighting there. The room should be well lit by a number of ceiling lights and you should make sure that no object or person throws shadows to obstruct the views of others people.
• Bathroom: Bathroom lighting is very important since most of your guests will visit it at least once. Your bathroom should be well-lit with special attention to the mirrors where men will rearrange their hair and women their makeup. However, there should be no special focus on any part of the room.
• Garden: Since some of your guests may want to spend some quiet time in the garden, it should be illuminated with a few dim lights that let them see but gives them privacy.