Interior
Design Ideas for Lighting and Light Fixtures
We tend to
underestimate the true significance of lighting in our daily
lives. Memories are
formed in large
part thanks to lighting. Many
of our
fondest memories like those beautiful sunny days as the beach, a great
ghost
story told by campfire, or perhaps even that romantic marriage proposal
via
candlelight—the mood and tone of those memories is created in
large part by the
lighting. Numerous
studies have proven
that adequate and properly diffused light plays a significant role on
our
mood. Just try to
envision a world
without light and how differently you would perceive life itself.
Fortunately, we all have access to lighting and great light
fixtures that can
greatly enhance both your life and home.
Illumination can be used to complete daily tasks,
highlight special
collectibles or unique features in the architecture, or perhaps to help
set a
warm and comfortable atmosphere to simply spend a little quiet time for
yourself. In the
following sections, we
will highlight some great ideas from lighting professionals to help
enhance
your décor and provide warm illumination that will make your
home feel like a
welcome retreat from the pressures and troubles of the outside world!
What
types of lighting should I include in my decor?
There are four basic types of illumination that you ideally
want to include in
any room, including:
Ambient
Lighting
Task
Lighting
Accent
Lighting
Decorative
Lighting
Ambient lighting is what you might consider to be the general
illumination and
is typically supplied by a centrally located ceiling
light
fixtures. Ambient
lighting is not meant to provide all
illumination and is typically a poor source of light by which to read
or
complete tasks. Rather,
ambient
illumination should help you navigate through the room and see all
objects.
Task lighting typically does not provide as much overall
illumination but is
instead more directed so that it illuminates a particular area where
tasks like
reading or food preparation might be performed. Examples of
task lighting would be a table
lamp or floor
lamp.
Accent
lighting
tends to use directed light but not as much illumination as task
lighting. You would
typically use accent lights to
highlight collections, artwork, or even architectural features in your
home to
provide a decorative effect in the space.
Decorative lighting, in all honesty, can incorporate any one
of the three
previously mentioned types of illumination.
To be considered a decorative lighting fixture it must
draw attention to
itself and embellish the décor in its own right. A great example of a
decorative lighting fixture would be a
chandelier. However,
even a pair of
decorative wall sconces that complement and accentuate the surrounding
décor
would also fit into this fourth lighting category.
So what are some of
the most important lighting basics to consider?
A great starting point is to
consider any dark spaces in your lighting scheme—in other
words, start with
places that need light the most.
However, you don’t want to install some 400-watt
mega-pendant in your
home office in order to eliminate any dark areas.
Certainly, this will eliminate any dark spots in the room
but it
will also create glare, strain the eyes, and make for a very
uncomfortable
working environment.
The room may actually require 400 Watts of
total illumination but you don’t want to get that all from
one fixture. Instead,
you want to create a balance of
light between different fixtures such as pendant lights
and wall
lights so that the light is spread evenly and flows
in between rooms. To
best layer the
light sources, you first need to survey the space and determine:
- What are the areas where tasks will be performed?
- What is focal point of room?
The areas of main activity will often be the
focal point of the room. In
some cases,
you may identify multiple focal points—and that is a great
thing! The best
lighting scheme is a layered one
and you want to include the brightest layers of illumination directed
towards
the focal points. You
can then add an
additional layer of lesser illumination in areas of interest that will
not
distract from the focal points.
Finally, a final layer of illumination will be necessary
for the
background.
Depending upon the area being illuminated,
the first two layers of light will ideally be supplied by a mix of both
task
and accent lighting. The
third level of
background ambient illumination tends to be indirect with wall sconces
being
excellent choices for this type of lighting.
Once you have the primary lighting layers in
place, you can now concentrate on the decorative fixtures and creating
a more
unified and complete look. However,
it
is indeed possible to add too much light to a room.
When planning a lighting design, remember to take into
account
natural light sources and have a day and night plan in place. The overall illumination
in a room should roughly
be equal to the square footage of the room multiplied by 50%. So, if you had a room with
180 square feet,
then adding 50% to that would mean that you would need approximately
270 Watts
of overall illumination.
Ideally, you will want a central ceiling fixture (like a chandelier,
flush-mount, or hanging pendant) equipped with a dimmer switch. When layered properly, the
lamps and
decorative fixtures will fill in the dark areas and the overall ambient
illumination can be adjusted to avoid glare and create a balanced
lighting
scheme.
