You walk into a room, you flip the switch, the light comes on. Get out, another movement, the light goes out. Easy and simple, but you’re missing out on a great lighting design opportunity.

Effective lighting isn’t just about making sure you don’t bump into furniture when you enter a room, it’s also about setting an appropriate mood and tone for the space.

The thing is, a room can have many moods depending on the situation. A joyous family gathering at the holiday dining table tends to call for bright, friendly lighting, but that can be too much when serving a romantic dinner for two. Installing dimmer switches is an easy and affordable way to solve that dilemma.

Modern dimmer switches come in four basic types.

rotary dimmer

These are the dimmer switches you used to see in your mom’s dining room. The way they work is very basic: the manual dial allows the owner to alter the lighting level by turning the dial. Some also feature a push button setting that allows you to turn the light off at the end of the night while keeping the current setting in place.

The Slider Dimmer

The slider works the same way as the rotary fader, but as the name suggests, it uses a slider instead of a rounded version.

The Touch Dimmer

A touch dimmer controls the intensity of the lighting with the touch of a button and is usually programmable. A one-touch recovery feature allows the owner to return to the previous lighting level without resetting the light and to set certain favorite lighting levels as presets.

The integrated dimming system

This is the top of the line in dimming technology. It allows homeowners to create multiple preset lighting setups in a single room and can even be controlled with a remote without the homeowner having to leave the couch.

Whichever dimmer option you choose, the most important thing is that it is installed correctly. A simple rotary dimmer isn’t too difficult for a homeowner to install, but installation of the more sophisticated options should definitely be left to a licensed electrician.