Do you know what exactly defines a space? If your answer is furniture, you are only partly correct. Furniture does play an essential role in giving life to a space. But what makes a room an aesthetically beautiful space is the lighting used. You can illuminate a room with a simple ceiling lamp. It serves the primary purpose of providing brightness to the room. But if you want to accentuate a focal point or add a new dimension to your interiors, you should pay special attention to the lighting design.
What are the basic types of lighting required for an interior?
If you are designing your interior and feel you can do away with just one or two lights, then you are wrong. To give life to a space and make it stand out, you should incorporate different types of lights based on the room’s design.
● General lighting
What is the primary purpose of light? It is, of course, to brighten up a space. The general lighting or ambient lighting serves this purpose. It brightens the room and helps you see things around. You can easily do your everyday tasks with good general lighting.
The most commonly used general lighting in a room is the ceiling light. You can also use chandeliers, LED track lights, and downlights to provide brightness to the room.
● Accent lighting
Suppose you are installing a new painting or an artwork on the wall. Or you want to create a niche area with beautiful decor pieces and textured walls. How do you make that space stand out? It is through the use of accent lighting.
Thus, the primary purpose of accent lights is to highlight a particular area of the room. It draws attention to a specific feature and makes it stand out.
To make the focal point stand out, you should use three times the normal light directed towards the focal area. This is achieved using spotlights or wall scones directed towards the focal point.
If your focal point has some painting, LED lights are a good idea. Since LED lights emit little heat, the painting is less likely to get damaged.
● Task lighting
Have you ever noticed that working under a focused light gives you better clarity? Yes, it does. This is because focused light is directed toward your work area rather than general light that illuminates the whole space. This focused light is called task light.
In a house, task light is mainly required in the kitchen, study area, dining room, and reading corner. Installing the task light below the kitchen cabinet provides clarity to the work area. Similarly, having a task light like a table lamp in the reading area provides enough brightness for reading.
While the task light should provide enough brightness, it should not be too glaring to cause discomfort to your eyes.
Which are the best lights for each room of the house?
★ Living room
Can you imagine a living room without any decor elements or focal points? It is, in fact, tough.
Thus, accent light is the most crucial light in a living room. It accentuates the key elements and provides a new dimension to the living space.
In addition, you can also go for general lighting, like LED track lights, to brighten up the room.
★ Bedroom
A bedroom requires only general lighting for its functionality. But what if you have a reading nook in the bedroom? You should have a task light like a floor lamp to light up the area. Similarly, if you have the habit of reading while in bed, you should have a table lamp nearby as a task light.
In addition to the above, if you have an accent wall or a painting in the bedroom, you can consider an accent light to highlight the focal point.
★ Kitchen
The kitchen is one room that requires all three forms of lighting. The first light you switch on when entering a kitchen would be the general lighting. This provides enough brightness for you to move around.
Though general lighting is enough while working on the countertop, it may not be so in all circumstances. In such a case, you require task lighting under the kitchen cabinet.
If you consider only the kitchen’s functionality, your lighting design can end with this. But if you want to add to the kitchen’s aesthetic appeal, you should have accent light focusing on a wall or any decor piece.
What are the things to consider while lighting the interiors?
● Select the right lighting fixtures
Since there are different styles of lighting fixtures, selecting one that blends with your interiors is very important.
Do you want to provide a luxurious look to your interiors? Then, hanging a branched chandelier with several small lights would be a good choice. On the other hand, if you want to provide a contemporary and sophisticated design to your interior, floor lamps or wall scones in contemporary style make a perfect choice.
● Layer the lights properly
You walk into a room and notice hardly any light on the corners. Why is it so? This is because there is no proper layering of light.
One or two lights may not provide an aesthetic appeal to the room. You should provide two or three different types of light depending on the room’s needs.
Suppose you have a large living room with a TV unit and a reading corner. You should have general lighting in the TV area and task lighting in the reading corner. The general lighting should have a dimmable option so that you can set the right mood as needed.
● Pay attention to the height
How high you hang the lighting fixture is crucial to get the desired result. Suppose you hang a pendant lamp just above the dining table. Though it provides a clear view, it can bang against the head. And that is the last thing you want!!
If you hang the lamp too high, it may not be readily visible to others. Thus, hanging the lamp at the proper height is very important.
Lights in the living room and bedroom should be hung 7 feet above the floor. As for pendant lamps, you should ensure they are hung 60-80 cm above the tabletop.
● Consider the features of the light
Do you plan to purchase light based solely on its look? Then you are doing it the wrong way. Though aesthetics play an important role in selecting light, it should not be the only consideration.
What is the energy consumption of the light? What is its color temperature? Is it possible to change its intensity as per your choice? These are a few things that you should consider.
● Consider the overall design style
Purchasing a light can sometimes be tricky,
considering the innumerable options available in the market. Are you someone who goes by the latest trend? Then, your purchase decision can be wrong.
While purchasing a light, you should consider the room’s overall design style and ensure the light design blends with it. In addition, you should also consider the material and finish of the lighting fixture before selecting one.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best way to enhance the look of your interiors, then investing in elegant lighting design is the way to go. By layering different types of lights, you can influence the room’s mood and create a harmonious atmosphere. Thoughtfully selected lighting design fixtures not only add to the functionality of the space but also to its aesthetic appeal.
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