
Light it Up the Right Way – Guide to Home Lighting
Lighting is an essential element of any interior and can certainly make or break a room. It?s important to understand the basics of functional lighting vs. decorative lighting to achieve a balance between the two.
The key to creating a successful interior is by incorporating elements that add visual interest. Just as you would introduce colour, pattern and texture into a space, layering lighting to create interesting scenes is equally important. Lighting can be layered by uniting ambient, accent and task lighting to achieve a balanced, visually pleasing space.
Functional lighting refers to general (or ambient) lighting and task lighting. Decorative lighting refers to lighting that is not only decorative but also helps to create a mood or ambiance within a room.
When addressing how best to light up your space, consider your needs. Think about what activities take will place in the space and what atmosphere would you like to create??For example, a bedroom requires general lighting bright enough to illuminate the entire room, but it?s also important to be able to create a softness in this space for relaxing, (this is considered mood lighting). In addition, you will require a reading light beside the bed, (this is considered task lighting, however, a lamp can offer both task and mood lighting).
Below is a chart to help you understand the basic forms of lighting.
TYPES OF LIGHTING | |
NATURAL LIGHTING |
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GENERAL LIGHTING |
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TASK LIGHTING |
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ACCENT LIGHTING |
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TYPES OF LIGHT FITTINGS | |
DOWNLIGHTS
? |
|
CEILING MOUNTED LUMINAIRES |
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PENDANTS
? |
|
FLOOR / TABLE LAMP |
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FREESTANDING LAMPS
? ? |
|
TABLE LAMPS
? |
|
UPLIGHTS |
|
?
MAIN TYPES OF LAMPS | |
HALOGEN |
|
INCANDESCENT |
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ENERGY SAVING (Compact Fluorescent) |
|
LED (Light Emitting Diodes). |
|
LIGHTING CONTROLS | |
DIMMERS |
|
INTERGRATED LIGHTING CONTROLS |
|
SENSORS |
|
ESSENTIAL TIPS:
? Generally furniture in a room will be moved around from time to time so it?s important to have a range of freestanding lighting options that can be moved around.
? It is good to allow for varying intensities of light. Incorporating a dimmer switch will offer flexibility. This is will provide both task light and mood lighting in one.
? It?s worth noting that rooms decorated with dark, deep hues absorb light, these spaces will require more lighting and light, neutral painted space.
? Dark flooring will also absorb light while light floors will reflect it. If you have any LED strip details be mindful if your floor or surfaces are polished as this will reflect the dots of the LED. If this happens you can use a diffuser to remove the dots.
? When selecting a colour temperature of a lamp, always choose 3000K (for general light and task light) or 2700K (accent light) as these are the warmest coloured lamps and will help to make your room feel cosy.
With thoughtful consideration and clever planning, you can create a balanced lighting scheme with flexible lighting effects that will greatly enhance the look and feel of your home. Feel a light bulb moment coming on?
We would like to thank London based lighting designer Erin Slaviero, of elektralighting.co.uk for offering us some insight into the wonderful world of lighting design.
Image Credits:?home-designing.com | freshhome.com |?wildriversareana.org
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