Unfortunately, the way many of us do our shopping is to make an instant purchase of something that catches our eye. Then we take our purchase back home, and in the case of a lamp or lighting fixture, try to work out where best to put it.

The most sensible thing to do is to plan your lighting scheme first. Take stock of the colors and textures you currently have in your home decor. Note the characteristics and overall style of your room(s). Determine what uses the room will have - for example, is it for dining, for relaxation, for reading/studying?

It is important to determine whether this room will be used during the day as well as during the evening/night as this obviously has a bearing on the type of lighting that will be used here.

Only once these factors have been worked out can you then move onto the next stage which is to devise a suitable lighting strategy. Here you need to consider the various types of lighting such as task lighting (needed for focused eye work such as reading or sewing) or display lighting (for highlighting pictures, objects or a particular corner of the room), etc.

At this point it's often a good idea to factor in any energy saving requirements you may have and to consider the size of the room as this all affects the types of light fittings you can purchase.

With regard to devising an effective lighting scheme, safety is one factor that is extremely important. Have a think about whether it is possible to use the existing wiring or whether it will need a complete overhaul. If it turns out that the wiring in your home does not meet the modern safety regulations, then

you have no choice but to get this sorted out before proceeding further.

Once the safety aspect of your lighting scheme has been determined and resolved, you need to consider the lighting plan. This is an action plan or guide that you formulate to give you an idea of where your light fittings are going to go and how you are going to control them i.e using dimmer switches, individual light switches.

This is quite easy to do - start by drawing an outline of the room on a sheet of paper, marking in where all the furniture is going to go. Only then can you determine where your light fittings, such as table lamps, floor lamps, reading lights, sconces, pendant lights, spotlights etc will go. Many manufacturers give you indications of "beam profiles" for lighting fixtures such as downlighters and spotlights and these profiles will enable you to decide whether it is viable to use that type of lighting in the spaces you have designated for lighting in your plan.

If you plan your lighting scheme at the same time as working out the colors, fabrics, finishes (as well as determining where your electrical sockets and light switches are going to go), this all makes for a cohesive and well coordinated home decor strategy that has catered for everything.

As a result, you are going to end up with a room that has been well designed and coordinated from start to finish, with all the colors and furnishings working together to give a beautiful, polished look instead of having a room that looks out of kilter because certain elements were thought of at the last minute and slapped on at the end.