Ceiling light is the most common and fundamental type of lighting for homes and businesses as it's the main source of ambient light - the main illumination for a room. Adequate ambient light is essential for indoor living and working so it has to be high quality. Fortunately, you have a wide choice as ceiling lights take many forms such as fluorescent strips, chandeliers, recessed and non-recessed down lights, pendant lights and track lights. Here's your guide to getting this vital form of illumination right to create that desirable blend of beauty and function.

When most of us enter our homes and offices, the first thing we do is to switch on the ceiling light. The ambient light it produces plays the same role as natural light in providing overall illumination to a space. At one time, you were pretty much limited to a standard shaded bulb or fluorescent strip. These are still common, but nowadays you can also find a whole range of ceiling lights offering the ultimate in style and functionality.

Popular nowadays are down lights. These are mounted in the ceiling and can be used in all the rooms in a home. Downlights produce a soft, even illumination which creates a relaxing atmosphere in any room. You can get them with many different types of fixtures. Recessed down lights are very sleek and stylish. You can get bezels in a range of shapes and the lights are typically finished in white or brushed chrome for a clean, modern look.

Down lights fitted with a gimble make excellent accent lights to highlight special objects or areas in a room. The rotatable design allows you to focus the beam on the desired object such as painting or porcelain item.

When it comes to bulbs you have many choices including compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) or halogen. CFLs are most suited to areas such as kitchens and dining rooms or external use where the lights need to be on for extended periods.

Halogen ceiling lights are very popular nowadays owing to their combination of energy efficiency and stylishness. These were originally designed for use as accent lighting; they're now popular as task lights for illuminating cooking spaces in kitchens for example.

The most celebrated types of ceiling lights are chandeliers which date back to medieval times and grace some of the world's most glorious buildings. Their enduring popularity is due to the shimmering blaze of luminescence they produce. Often, they're bought for their decorative value as much as their illumination. The good thing is, you don't have to live in a palace to grace your home with a chandelier; you can find affordable items to fit any room, whether coloured or crystal, in antique gold or polished brass.

Other popular options are pendant lights. These hang down from the ceiling and are perfect as task lights above a kitchen work space or a dining table, for example.

So, how to choose the most suitable ceiling lights?

In your home, each room will have different demands. Every room requires ambient lighting and your living room demands the kind of gentle relaxing light that downlights provide along with strategically placed task lighting, in the form of track lighting or pendant. You kitchen needs effective task lighting for cooking and your bedroom needs soft lighting that down lights provide to create the bedtime mood.

For commercial lights, it depends on the kind of business you're in. If you have an office that uses a lot of computers such as a graphic design company, you'll need to keep your main ambient lighting low to avoid screen glare and use accent lighting to fill in.

For an up market restaurant, chandeliers add that touch of glamour that really sets off a room. If you're the owner of a high end boutique, you'll want to maximize the use of accent lighting to bring out the best in your merchandise. You could set up track lights to shine a spotlight on key areas, and you'll probably want to experiment with coloured bulbs.

You have a vast choice when it comes to ceiling light. The best way to get ideas is to visit an online lighting wholesaler and browse the offerings of domestic and commercial lights. You can choose the best lighting for your particular needs and buy chandelier or track lights as you need. After ordering online, your goods will be delivered in a few days.