• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog
  • Entertaining
    • Dinner Party Menus
    • Themed Dinner Ideas
    • Tablescapes
      • centerpieces
      • floral
      • candle
    • Cocktail Parties
    • Buffet tables
    • Designing Dessert Tables
    • Tips & Tricks
  • special occasions
    • Birthdays –>
      • for Adults
      • 1st birthday
      • for Girls
      • for Boys
      • for Teens/Tweens
    • Bridal shower
    • Baby shower
    • Engagement / Anniversary
    • Weddings
  • Seasonal | Holidays
    • Winter
      • super bowl
      • Awards Night Party
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patricks Day
      • mardi gras
    • Spring
      • Easter
      • Graduation
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Kentucky derby
      • Mother’s Day
    • Summer Entertaining
      • Father’s Day
      • 4th of July
    • Autumn
      • School Days
      • Football parties
      • Halloween
    • Holidays
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
      • New Years
  • by color
    • black
    • blue
    • brown
    • gold
    • gray | Silver
    • green
    • orange
    • pink
    • purple
    • red
    • white
    • yellow
    • neutrals
    • multi color
  • Food & Drink
    • cocktails & drinks
    • appetizers & snacks
    • main dish
    • side dishes
    • sweets
    • brunch
    • Food Presentation
    • the Bar
  • DIY
    • Projects
    • Printables & Freebies

Celebrations at Home

Inspiration for Stylish Entertaining

  • About
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
  • Let’s Work Together
  • Food Photography
  • contact
  • SHOP
  • Nav Widget Area

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Subscribe for Email Updates

You are here: Home / Home / Entertaining at Home Tips: Setting the Mood with Lighting

Entertaining at Home Tips: Setting the Mood with Lighting

When it comes to my entertaining at home tips, setting the mood with lighting is one of my top ‘rules’ to consider. I’ve partnered with Lutron lighting to let you know how I do that.

Entertaining at home tips: set the mood with lighting. #partytips #entertaining

From all my years of entertaining at home I’ve amassed my own set of ‘rules’ for setting the right mood for a party. They include a variety of duties like getting the house ready on a fundamental level, to creating the right atmosphere and playlist, to having the right lighting. With so much emphasis put on decorations and food, I think most of the time these things get overlooked or forgotten.

Lighting is a KEY element when setting up for a party.

For most entertaining you want your room lighting dimmer than usual so people feel cozy. Lower lighting also makes everyone look better! There’s a reason they turn the lights down in a bar. I’m just sayin’.

In other cases like game night or activity-based gatherings, you’ll want brighter light so everyone can see details.

In our previous house we had several dimmers installed to control the brightness of some main areas like the dining room and family room. But when we built our current house the dimmers weren’t offered as an option and boy did I miss them!

Last year during a party there was a crowd lingering around the kitchen island, and you know how bright kitchen lighting is! I didn’t like it at all, so when Lutron offered to send me their light dimmer kit I was very excited to get it installed.

Entertaining at home tips: set the mood with lighting. #partytips #entertaining

Install a dimmer switch to control lighting in main rooms like dining room, living room, and kitchen.

Since the kitchen is so bright I knew this was the room I wanted to put the dimmer in. After all, I use lamps in the other rooms to control the brightness. My husband is quite the handy man and he installed the dimmer easily in about 10 minutes.

With the dimmer switch controlling the kitchen lights I’m able to have them on full power to cook and clean, but lower them for entertaining around the island. I. LOVE. IT. I’m excited to have this new feature during our annual Christmas cocktail party this year, and I’ll finally be able to set the mood just the way I want it!

Entertaining at home tips - Set the mood with lighting from Lutron

Here’s a look at how the dimmer switch fits into our existing unit. The little slider virtually ‘disappears’ into the switch plate for a clean look. Just move it up or down to control the light level.

Here are 6 more ways to set the mood with lighting when Entertaining at Home.

  • Turn on lamps in auxiliary rooms where people may gather {instead of overhead lights}. In our family room I’ve got table lamps and floor lamps spread around the room, and will turn on a couple of those so people can go sit and have a conversation without feeling like they’re being interrogated.
  • A dining room NEEDS a light dimmer for cozy dinner parties. If you’re setting the table up buffet style you can use lamps and candle light to illuminate the space.
  • Add a nightlight in the powder room so guests aren’t fumbling to find the switch when they walk in.
  • Add under-cabinet lights in the kitchen for a fabulous perimeter lighting.
  • If you have space between your upper cabinets and the ceiling, you can tuck in string lights for a beautiful look.
  • Add can lights in the corner behind a plant or chair for a light source that’s almost unnoticeable but creates the illusion of more space.

I hope you’ll start thinking about lighting in a new way, and see how it impacts the mood of your party. For more lighting solutions visit the Lutron website.

 


Follow me: Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

 

 

Previous: DIY Balloon Grape Cluster
Next: Gourmet Side Dish – Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

November 19, 2015 11:31 am Chris Filed Under: Entertaining, Home, Party Design Basics

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz says

    November 23, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    I love the ambiance when the lights are dimmed! So lovely!!!

  2. candy says

    November 23, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    Lighting plays a big part and so many people forget about the lighting. Thanks for the reminder.

  3. stilusessaywriting.com says

    November 20, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Thank’s for this post. I totally agree with that fact that light influence on a mood. We have to learn how to bring everything on a right way to make atmosphere comfortable.

    • Chris says

      November 23, 2015 at 2:52 pm

      Thanks. I love playing with different lighting for each space of a party.

Primary Sidebar


The most important thing about parties & entertaining is the guest list! Next, it should be delicious, beautiful, unique, and fun. Calling on my years of experience, I’ll show you how to pull it all together with style. Cheers!

Footer

Search the Site

Celebrations At Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. All our thoughts and opinions are our own and we are not paid for or mandated to provide a positive review.

Categories

Archives

Tags

airplanes Alice in Wonderland art backdrops bacon birds books butterflies camping carnival & circus casseroles Chalkboard Ideas cheese cocktail party cookies fairy Fiesta frames French Chic GIRLS NIGHT IN hot cocoa & COFFEE ice cream Mexican Monkeys Moroccan Movie themes nautical nesting owls picnic pizza Princess pumpkin Quotable Safari & Jungle salad shabby chic soups & chili Sports tea party trains travel Western wine Woodland

© Copyright 2018 Celebrations at Home · Scroll to TOP · Log In · Hosted by Servously