In your haven, the lighting you choose, will not only create a unique mood but it will enhance each room with beauty and charm. The wonderful thing about the way you decide to light your home and the methods you chose to bring about an ambiance of charisma, enchantment and warmth, is that you can use a myriad of diverse ideas to change them when your desire arises. For instance, you may want to create a more intimate lighting for a romantic dinner, soft lighting for a girls night out or an enchanting illumination, (candles and twinkling white lights) for a suspenseful, Murder mystery party with guests arriving in costume.
“Let The Sunshine in.” Natural sun light is one of the most becoming ways of showing off the beauty of your room. By using lace curtains pulled back with a decorative tapestry tie, a ribbon of vintage lace or a swag of dried flowers, you will bring in a gentle and dreamy light. In hanging sheer white curtains or choosing to use a ‘curtain free’ look, the appeal and loveliness of your home will come forth even brighter. Using a variation of whites, creams, egg shell and soft greys along with sheers, creates a large room, exudes the aura of a clean fresh look as well as creating a very festive mood.
Choosing miniature, twinkling white lights amongst topiary trees, entwined in garlands upon your stairwell and mantle or interlaced in decorative trees within your home is a wonderful way to create the mood of ‘romance,’ as well as blissful charm.
My village collection when all lit up with glistening white lights is not only magical but is captivating and fairytale like. We have chosen this way of lighting within our home and we love it. (Except within my husbands manly office, in which he does not allow me to decorate, even one little bit.) 🙂 (Okay, maybe a miniature, nautical tree with lights, as that is his ‘room theme,’ but besides that it’s hands off.) 🙂 Not only do we feel pampered, celebratory and peaceful, but we have created a coziness and richness within our home that is perfect for all types of wondrous gatherings, such as wide screen T.V. ‘movie nights,’ long talks over a robust and ‘bouncing’ cup of coffee with family visiting from afar and for our evenings when we are entertaining good friends and sharing an intimate dinner.
Overhead lighting is also a wonderful way to bring ‘just the right’ light into your room. Whether a chandelier, ceiling fan lights, or strip lighting in the kitchen with dimmer switches, you can chose the amount of light that you would like to shine upon ‘the center of attention.’ Whether it be soft lighting for romantic cooking for two in the kitchen, a birthday dinner celebration or a brighter light to read by, this type of lighting is versatile and very becoming within your haven. 
Ah the beauty of candles. In my personal opinion, candles are the most alluring, inviting and charming way to light and accent a home. There is nothing more entrancing than a roaring fire with its bright hues of golds and reds accompanied with the warmth it so graciously fills all of our rooms with. Whether you chose to use an abundance of candles or just a few, you are sure to bring alive a cozy and fetching berth. In our home, I keep candles burning all day and night, (well, except when we are off in slumber land.) 🙂 I love the tiny tea light candles in different colored glass votive’s as they flicker on my hutches, bedside table and fill the counter of my bathroom as I allow Calgon to ‘take me away.’ For our special dinners around our dining table, I love the tall, taper candles, whether in our candelabra, or ornate candle stick holders. I adore reds and hunter green tapers during Christmas and, shades of soft amber and rich browns for the autumn season. For the summer and spring season we choose fresh linen white and refreshing sage green. The nice thing about candle light in your home is that you get to choose the size, quantity and colors that you desire.
Some people feel that ‘less is more’ while others feel that ‘more is more.’ My motto has always been , “To much of a good thing is fabulous!” 🙂
THE DISTINGUISHED QUOTE CORNER: 
“Light can be gentile, dangerous, dreamlike, bare, living, dead, misty, clear, hot, dark, violet, springlike, falling, straight, sensual, limited, poisonous, calm and soft.” ~ Sven Nykvist
“Moonlight is sculpture.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you won’t see the dust on the floor.” ~ Irish Proverb
“There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ~ Edith Wharton
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows shall fall behind you.” ~ Maori Proverb
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” ~ Aaron Rose
“Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all others were making ships.” ~ Charles Simic
Let your home be a showcase of IMAGINATION, (on the inside and out.) Don’t be afraid to bring forth the dreams in your heart to reality. The more I began to create, the fear dissipated and I had so much fun creating ambiances my family and guests would love.
Enjoy trying out some new home looks with your lighting ideas!
PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse upon any photo or graphic, it will display where the picture originated from.
