- When building a custom home, you can customize everything down to the type of light switches and electrical outlet covers. But did you know the way you plan your lighting scheme can have a major impact on the feel of each room? We’ve spoken before about the role of color in interior design, but how you highlight that color – and other aspects of your home – are just as important.
- By understanding just how big this role is, you and your designer can create inviting environments that serve their intended purpose in an effective manner.
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Importance of Lighting
Other than the ability to be able to see when natural light resources are at a minimum, lighting has the power to shape the ambiance of a room. The type of lighting you use can elevate a space, highlight certain design features, create comfort, or illicit focus. Providing ample light in the kitchen for a well-lit workspace enhances focus and productivity. Soft, warm lighting in a bedroom puts relaxation in the forefront. Effective lighting influences mood, but can also make spaces appear larger or cozier, too.
You can focus on a single type in an area or room, or you can combine the following lighting types for a layered effect that transforms an interior from an empty room to a warm, welcoming environment. We can help you identify the role each plays in your overall lighting design and help you make informed decisions to enhance not only the aesthetics but the functionality of each room.
Types of Lighting
There are several lighting options available to you, and knowing which one works best for which space, or the desired effect you want to create, is key to a good lighting strategy.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the general illumination of a room that serves as the main source of light. An overhead light above the kitchen table is the ambient source of light for the dining area. Ambient light makes sure the whole space is well-lit without harsh shadows.
Task Lighting
Have you ever wondered why dressing rooms have lighted mirrors? Or why the lighting in your bathroom over the mirror is so bright? Task lighting focuses light on a specific task. These types of light shine on specific tasks, like brushing teeth or hair, doing makeup, shaving, reading, and the like. A warm glow isn’t enough to see to make sure you don’t cut yourself, or add too much eyeliner. This type of lighting includes items like desk lamps, under-cabinet lighting in kitchens, and vanity lights in bathrooms. No matter the task at hand, task lighting improves visibility and enhances the overall functionality of a space.
Accent Lighting
Much like task lighting, accent lighting serves a specific purpose. Accent lighting is a specialty type of lighting that does exactly what the name says – it accents. This lighting adds accent or highlight to architectural features, artwork, plants, sculptures, and more. Do you have a beautiful piece of artwork or family heirloom you want to show off? Add accent lighting over it or around it, like track lighting, wall sconces, or a spotlight to show it off. Accent lighting adds depth and drama to a space or item and enriches your lighting design.
Natural Lighting
Light from the sun is can be a major part of your lighting design for your custom home. It starts with building orientation and the proper placement of windows, skylights, and sun tunnels. We at Acipe Design can help you plan your natural lighting scheme before you even break ground for your build. In addition to this ground-up approach to natural lighting, your interior designer can help you with furniture placement and the strategic use of mirrors to reflect light throughout a room for an open, airy, vibrant feel.
Plan Your Lighting Design
Your use of the four main types of lighting starts when you start to design your home. Your lighting needs will be dictated by static key factors like room size, purpose, and the mood you wish to achieve in the room.
Assess the Space
Creating a lighting design scheme starts with an assessment of the space to be lit. Measure dimensions, including length, width, and height, and consider the layout. Identify permanent light sources like windows and overhead fixtures, and make note of areas where you want extra illumination – like dark corners or workspaces.
With your initial assessment complete, create a list of activities to be performed in each room. Your eat-in kitchen will host cooking and dining, requiring task lighting in the cooking and prep spaces and more ambient lighting in the dining area. After the meal, retreat to the home office to send some work emails or add finishing touches to a book report for English class – with bright task lighting to illuminate the focused work.
Whether it’s these spaces or another, make sure to also evaluate the natural light sources and how they change throughout the day. My husband and I share a home office set up in one of the extra bedrooms. There are really only two ways to set up: against the two solid walls, or facing the window. My desk originally faced one of the solid walls, but the open window blew cold air in and directly over me since my chair stuck out to in front of the window when I sat. He set up his workstation directly across from the window. I don’t know how he could stand it, since as the sun goes down, there’s a time when it shines directly in my eyes. The blinds do their job at this time, but the light that sneaks in between shoots directly into my vision.
Setting the Mood
The mood can make or break a space. If you walk into the kitchen, you expect a bright space ready for the work of making and serving a meal. When you enter the bedroom, you expect softer light for relaxation.
A great way to set the mood is with a combination of ambient, task, and accent lighting to create depth that the use of a single type would lack. The use of warm light bulbs creates a cozier atmosphere than the use of cooler bulbs, which add brightness and vibrancy.
The living room is often a hotbed of different activities. Reading, socializing, or watching TV or movies, are just a few of the things people do in the living room. Consider dimmable fixtures to adjust brightness depending on the occasion. Dim them to low for movie-watching, or turn them up when friends and family are over for a visit. In the bedroom, consider bedside lamps or wall-mounted sconces are great for reading and relaxing.
No matter how you make your decisions, make sure to adjust your lighting design to cater to the purpose of the room and the desired emotional response.
Effective Lighting Techniques
The effective use of lighting enhances the interior design of your home, as well as improves function and mood. Let’s talk about some of our favorite techniques for achieving your desired lighting effects.
Layer Light
The process of layering light combines ambient, task, and accent lighting to balance the atmosphere and set the mood. Mixing and matching the types of lighting creates depth and a welcoming atmosphere.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient Lighting is the general base of lighting. Use ceiling fixtures or wall-mounted lights for overall illumination in a space.
Task Lighting
The next layer, task lighting, adds focused light in areas where specific tasks will take place. Desk lamps in workspaces, pendants over kitchen islands, or under-cabinet lighting for kitchen tasks like cooking or preparing food.
Accent Lighting
As we said previously, accent lighting highlights architectural features, artwork, or other important features. It’s on the same level as task lighting, since it focuses on a specific item or area. Spotlights, wall sconces, or focused track lighting achieve the goals of accent lighting.
Other accent lighting includes color and effects. We have LED lights that backlight our TV. There’s a remote to choose color and pattern for a different mood depending on color. We like the blue and purple spectrum colors, since most of the time we have these lights on are during TV or movie-watching. You can incorporate colors and other effects in the same way – adding drama and versatility, as well as vibrancy and personality to a room.
The strategic placement of accent lights not only spotlight certain things, but create visual interest. It leads the eye to important focal points leading to certain moods and feelings. When you implement accent lighting, you up the aesthetic appeal of your interior and add personal flare and style.
Choose the Right Fixture
There are a number of lighting fixtures and styles to choose from. Walk down any lighting aisle of a home improvement store and you’ll see just how many. Each serves a different functionality, and the design or shape reflects the style you want in a room. Certain types of fixtures are only in appropriate rooms or areas.
Chandeliers
Whether they’re ornate or simple, a good chandelier is the perfect fixture for dining rooms and entryways. Use more elegant designs for a formal setting and more simple ones for a more casual atmosphere.
Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are often found in the kitchen or dining area. Install multiple pendant lights over a kitchen island or dining table. Make sure to evenly space the pendants and use enough to wash the whole workspace or eating space in light.
Wall Sconces
Wall sconces are another type of lighting that serves a limited purpose. They’re most effective in hallways where larger pieces will crowd the floor space or for accent lighting. The walls of theater rooms using dimmer light is also an effective way of using sconces.
Recessed Lighting
This type of lighting is unique. It could be used as accent lighting over a specific area, or when used throughout a room can create ambient light without taking up visual space.
Table & Floor Lamps
The most flexible of all the lighting types, table and floor lamps can be used in a variety of spaces, a variety of areas within that space, and in a variety of ways. Reading nooks, end tables in the living room, floor lamps next to Dad’s favorite recliner, and other applications that can be moved as your lighting style changes.
Energy Efficiency with Lighting
Adding energy efficiency to your home build and decorating scheme is easy. Just the addition of things like energy efficient appliances and energy efficient building materials like windows and doors can significantly lower your energy bills and make your home work smarter, not harder. There are several other ways to bring energy efficiency into your home, including through your lighting design choices.
LED Bulbs
Incandescent light bulbs have become mostly a thing of the past. When LED broke onto the scene, it was expensive and choices were limited. But as LED technology has eveolved over the years, it’s become the bulb of choice for most homeowners. Not only is it more energy efficient – LED bulbs use up to 80% less energy than their incandescent counterparts – but they run cooler than your average incandescent bulb.
Smart Lighting
If you’re looking to combine smart home technology and energy efficiency, lighting is a great way to start. Smart lighting systems can control brightness and even schedule lighting remotely. Control your lights from your phone or tablet, even when you’re not home. Gone are the days are plugging in every light to a set timer. These smart features can help optimize energy use based on your regular routine, and allows you to make adjustments when things change. Coming home later than usual? With a few commands you can make sure the light in your front window comes on at the same time as if you were arriving home.
Light Sensors
Installing sensors in less frequently used spaces like bathrooms or hallways are another way to achieve energy efficiency with lighting. Motion sensors are triggered when someone walks in, and turn off after a set period of inactivity. The sensors conserve energy, and keep Dad from yelling at everyone to turn off the light when you leave the room.
Natural Lighting
Make sure natural lighting is the first and last lighting source you consider. Maximizing natural light by selecting fixtures that complement the natural lighting provided by windows, skylights, and sun tunnels. Choose lighter colored blinds and pair them with reflective surfaces inside the home to disperse sunlight to its fullest potential.
A Note About Energy Star Ratings
Just about every window, door, and appliance comes with an Energy Star Rating. Even though many items are compliant, some aren’t. Look for the logo as these products meet energy efficiency guidelines and will ensure not only better product performance, but lower utility bills, too.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to use lighting to create the mood and accurately light a room to meet the needs and purposes of each room in your home. At Acipe Design we can help you design your lighting scheme from the ground up, just as we design your dream custom home. During your consultation, we’ll talk about your needs and goals not just for space, but for lighting and other interior design needs to make sure everything is perfect the day you move in.
Contact us today!