So bright and yet so weirdly distorting, overhead lighting really is the pits—so much so that we advise totally ignoring it in favor of lamps. But if you or your landlord has installed dimmer switches, you know just the opposite can be true: Dimming the brightness of those downward-facing bulbs can make them soft and glowy, not harsh at all. (You'll actually want to turn them on!) "Crucial" is how important the New York–based stylist and designer Michael Bargo says dimmers are in home design (which is really saying something, considering his Brooklyn apartment has doubled as his shoppable furniture store; the light inside it has to be as flattering as possible). "I use them in every room…I use them whenever possible."
A medley of overhead lights in all different brightnesses creates a glowing ambiance in this Manhattan home by Lee F. Mindel.
The good news for anyone who's ever cursed their overheads: Installing dimmer switches is as simple as swapping out the existing switches (and switch plates)—which is easy if you're competent with wiring and even easier if you have an electrician drop by to do it for you—and making sure the bulbs you're using are dimmable. There are a few options to consider, but the two main buckets are paddle-style dimmers, which tap on and off and feature a tiny, nubby lever next to them to control the brightness of the bulb, and dimmer knobs, which you twist to turn the light on and up. Paddle-style dimmers are more typical, with a light switch that happens to have a dimmer function, but dimmer knobs are a bit more satisfying design-wise for their simplicity, whether you go the modern or antique route. "House of Antique Hardware [in New York City] has the best old-fashioned push-button dimmers," advises Bargo, who prefers them to paddle-style switches and pairs them with white or black metal plates. You can source vintage switch plates to match from sites such as eBay and Etsy.
Antique Brass Push Button Switch Plate, $35, etsy.com; buy now. Cast Dimmer Knob in Black by Amerelle, $3, amazon.com; buy now.
While Michael mostly uses dimmers for overhead lighting, it is also possible to add them to lamps without hard-wiring a thing: A lamp dimmer just plugs right into the wall like a little extension cord with a lever on it. Press it down—or twist your dimmer knob—and watch the shadows soften, the lights that once resembled spotlights turn into a very soft, blanketing glow. Adding lamps at various heights and wattages will still make the room's lighting more multi-dimensional, should that be of interest, but with dimmers on the overheads, you'll never be more than a single flick or twist away from good lighting.