--- 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 --- [Skip to content](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how#main-content) [![Everything But | Good Design. Decoded.](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/footer%20website%20wordmark%20blk.png?width=1045&height=298&name=footer%20website%20wordmark%20blk.png "Everything But | Good Design. Decoded.")](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/home?hsLang=en) - [DECODE](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/decode) - [KNOW-HOW](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how) - [THE EDIT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/the-edit) - [ABOUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/about) - [DECODE](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/decode) - [KNOW-HOW](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how) - [THE EDIT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/the-edit) - [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. [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/everythingbut.theedit) [Follow us on Pinterest](https://uk.pinterest.com/everythingbut_theedit/) [![Everything But | Logo | Everything But The Kitchen Sink](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/footer%20website%20wordmark%20blk.png?width=193&height=55&name=footer%20website%20wordmark%20blk.png "Everything But | Logo | Everything But The Kitchen Sink")](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk?hsLang=en) [Blog](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog?hsLang=en) |  [Partners](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/partnerships?hsLang=en)| [Terms & Conditions](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/terms?hsLang=en)  |  [Privacy & Cookies](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/privacy?hsLang=en) --- Good Design. Decoded. © 2026 All rights reserved ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Five layers: ambient, task, accent, decorative and control. Add them in that order, keep every bulb at 2700K, and put the lamps on a switch you can reach from the chair." }, "name" : "How do you layer lighting in a living room?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Large enough for at least the front legs of the sofa and every chair to sit on it. Most UK sitting rooms need 200 x 290cm rather than the 160 x 230cm people usually buy." }, "name" : "How big should a rug be?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Centre the picture at eye level, roughly 145 to 150cm from the floor. Above a sofa, leave 15 to 25cm between the top of the seat back and the bottom of the frame." }, "name" : "How high should pictures hang?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Around 40 to 45cm. Close enough to reach a cup without leaning forward, far enough to walk past without turning sideways." }, "name" : "How far should a coffee table be from a sofa?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Give the eye somewhere to travel. One larger piece on the wall, hidden storage and light from three or four low sources do more than any space-saving furniture." }, "name" : "How do you make a small room look bigger?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Yes. Either just brushing the floor or breaking slightly onto it. Curtains that stop short of the floor make a window look smaller than it is." }, "name" : "Should curtains touch the floor?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Break the sightline so the whole space isn’t visible at once. A path that bends, planting that overlaps the edges and one focal point at the far end all make a garden read as longer than it is." }, "name" : "How do you make a small garden look bigger?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Wherever the sun lands when you’ll actually use it. That’s often not against the house. Track the light across an afternoon before laying anything." }, "name" : "Where should a patio sit in a garden?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Big enough for the table plus a metre on every side, so chairs pull out without dropping off the edge. For six people that’s around 4 x 4m." }, "name" : "How big should a patio be?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Change the surface or the level. A shift from paving to gravel, or a single step, tells the eye a new area has begun without needing a fence." }, "name" : "How do you zone a garden?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Low, warm and scattered. Lanterns, candles and festoon lighting at 2700K. Avoid anything bright and overhead, which flattens the garden and undoes the atmosphere." }, "name" : "What’s the best lighting for a patio?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Plant tall and narrow rather than building higher. Trees with clear stems screen at eye level while letting light through, which a raised fence won’t." }, "name" : "How do you make a garden feel more private?" } ] } ```