---
title: The Know-How | Practical Home and Garden Guides | Everything But
description: The instructions your home never came with. Practical guides to lighting, layouts, materials and planting from Everything But. Inside and out.
image: https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hubfs/know-how-lighting-01-cover.png
---

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- [THE KNOW-HOW](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how)
- [ABOUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/about)

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- [OUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/out)
- [SHOP THE EDIT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/the-edit)
- [THE KNOW-HOW](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how)
- [ABOUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/about)

KNOW-HOW /ˈnəʊ.haʊ/ n.

# The instructions your home never came with.

What makes a room feel right? Why does one material work where another doesn’t? How do you light a room properly? And where do you start outside?

The Know-How gets into the practical details behind good spaces. Clear explanations, useful principles and straight answers to the things that usually get overcomplicated.

What would you like help with?

- [Lighting a roomLighting / 01 →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how#lighting)
- Choosing materialsComing soon
- Planning furnitureComing soon
- Getting proportions rightComing soon
- Making a small room work harderComing soon
- Designing a garden like a roomComing soon
- Choosing colour with confidenceComing soon
- Working out what is worth spending more onComing soon

[![Cover of How to Light a Room, Lighting / 01 from The Know-How by Everything But](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/know-how-lighting-01-cover.png?width=900&height=1273&name=know-how-lighting-01-cover.png)](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how#get-lighting-guide)

Lighting / 01

## A lovely lamp is only part of the story.

You can buy beautiful lights and still end up with a room that feels flat, harsh or somehow wrong.

The difference is usually not the fitting itself. It is where the light comes from, what it is doing, and how the different layers work together.

This guide shows you how to think about lighting a room before you start buying, so the result feels warmer, more useful and more considered.

Inside the guide

1. How to layer light
2. Where task lighting matters
3. How to avoid glare
4. What colour temperature actually means
5. How many light sources a room really needs
6. Where decorative lighting earns its place

[Download Lighting / 01 →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how#get-lighting-guide)

### Get Lighting / 01

Add your email and the guide opens straight away.

## What should I decode next?

[**Colour**How to choose it without living in fear of the paint chart.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit) [**Layout**Why some rooms flow and others fight you.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit) [**Materials**Wood, stone, tile, metal, fabric. What works where.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit) [**Small spaces**How to make less space work harder.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit) [**Gardens**How to design outside like another room.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit) [**Buying well**Where to spend, where to save, what actually lasts.](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit)

[Tell me what you want decoded next →](https://ig.me/m/everythingbut.theedit)

## Understand it. Then make it yours.

The point is not to tell you what your home should look like.

It is to help you understand why something works, so you can make better decisions for your own space.

Keep it. Ignore it. Adapt it.

Good design. Decoded.

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