Decora Switch Plates

When it comes to remodeling your home, there are almost too many options to choose from. Like what type of flooring you should put down or what type of countertops you should use. Many of these decisions also are made by the cost of the item. Sure, wouldn't we all like to have the "top of the line" or best stuff for our home? I know that I would, but when it comes down to "crunch time", our decision process goes to what's the best that we could buy for a certain price? Do you scrimp on the flooring so that you could spend a little more on cabinets or fixtures? Lucky for me, that is your decision.

Sometimes when we get too involved and wrapped up in the redecorating process, we overlook the small details. This is when we need to take a step back and look things over. The small details many times make or break a room. One of the small details for me is whether you should use decora switch plates or not.

Some people prefer the regular flip switches that are in probably 80% of the homes these days, while others prefer the look of the decora switches. Often times people don't care enough to change from one to the other because they feel it doesn't make that much of a difference. This can be true at times but in certain situations, for me, it does make a difference.

Here are a few things that I consider when determining whether or not I want to use decora switch plates. The thing that I like about decora switch plates is the smooth look. I like the fact in certain rooms where the lighting might be different, I won't see the dark shadows the regular flip switches leave. If you were to have the plain white flip switch, it casts a black shadow down the front of it. This huge contrast of colors attracts your eye. Now in the same room, if you were to have the white leviton decora switch plates on it, there wouldn't be the dark shadow on the front of it.

Another thing that I consider for decora switch plates is their functionality. In a place like a kitchen, I would prefer decora switch plates for pure ease of use. For me, it is more natural to use the tip of your index finger to press the light on versus using the side of my finger to flip the switch up. In kitchens, the room is usually surrounded by cabinets and countertops and you have to lean over them to turn on or off the light. I personally prefer to push in these cases instead of having to flip the switch.

Now in the case of in a closet or on the corner of a room where you have to reach around a corner, I prefer to have a flip switch. It feels natural to me to slide my index finger up and have it catch the switch on side of it. Especially if it is really dark in the room and I'm randomly swiping my finger all over trying to find it.

I'm not sure if I have ever seen a house with both types of switches combined. Maybe I have and never noticed it. To me I think that it might look a bit funny to have both. At that point, I would do the pros and cons and then go with the one that I think would fit the best for the decor of the whole house.

It is kind of funny to talk to people about the two different switches. They usually like one or the other better. The one that they usually don't like they feel are outdated looking. Some think that the decora switch plates look like the 90's and others think that the flip switches have and old look to them, like when they grew up as kids. Again this is all personal preference, but if you were to choose decora switch plates, I'm sure that it is the best decision.