You have just purchased new furniture for your living room or moved your existing things into a new home. You turn on the builder installed overhead lighting or the light that is integrated into a ceiling fan and the space did not quite come out as you had planned. What are the problems? It is very possible that your lighting is selling your new look short.
When you select new furniture at a furniture store, the first attraction that you have is to the pieces of furniture themselves. You like the lines, the size and the colors worked perfectly, but something happened when you brought your new furniture home. The pieces did not have the same look that they did at the store. Lighting may be your issue because you have to remember that furniture stores spend thousands of dollars to light their showroom as well as employ professional designers to showcase their products. But once you have identified this problem, you can begin to make lighting adjustments in your own space to make the furniture and accessories pop.
Whether you have lived in a home for years or have just moved into a new one, you might not have paid attention to the lighting. Many of us just begin using the lighting that was installed in the home and don’t think much about it. While today’s builders think more about lighting than they did in the past in all home price ranges, for them, lighting can simply be a function of getting the space illuminated. Many homes may have a single fixture centered in the room or a ceiling fan with a lighting kit. Some may have recessed lights that illuminate a living room or master bedroom. In any case, the result can be a volume of hollow light that washes every surface in the room. If you find that your furniture and home accessories do not show as well as you would like them to, you need to address the lighting.
There are many types of lighting that you need to consider to make a good design. The first is the general lighting. As we have discussed, most rooms have this type of lighting. Recessed lights do provide a nice way to light a space. If you are a homeowner who has a single light in a room and find that you require more general lighting, then you may consider installing recessed lighting. While many builders evenly space the recessed lights throughout the ceiling, another design may work as well. When you watch
The second type of lighting is accent lighting. Once you have filled the space with general lighting, you need to now bring accent lighting into the mix. Think lamps. Accent lighting fills in the lower space of a room closer to the furniture and floor. Again, this is another layer of definition for the space. Lamps placed near your couches and chairs serve to further define the space. There are numerous options here to choose from when selecting your accent lighting. Table lamps provide excellent accent lighting as well as torchieres. Once you have added accent lighting, you will notice that the room takes on more dimension.
The third type of lighting is task lighting. Task lighting can be the most important element in giving your room that designer look. While all three types of lighting together create the look you are trying to achieve, task lighting is what ultimately showcases your interior design. Let us think in simple terms. If you have a stunning piece of art hanging on the wall and it is not illuminated, then you have wasted your money on the art work. Without lighting it will wash into the wall. Add task lighting and it is showcased. You might have a sculpture sitting on a table or pedestal, and while a beautiful piece, it will not come to life until it is given the proper lighting. Task lighting can also be used to light areas for specific activities such as a desk space where you use the computer or pay your bills. When you are trying to decide what in your home needs task lighting, take notice of the things that are important pieces to you in the room. Then light them. Task lighting may come in the form of a high intensity light that has a very narrow beam and projects from the ceiling to illuminate an object in the room. It may also take the form of an art light mounted just above a painting or a flood light placed on the floor to illuminate an element from below. Think of task lighting as your third dimension in a good lighting scheme. Until you have a third dimension of lighting, your space will not achieve its ultimate design potential.
The last part of a good lighting design, which can never be underestimated, is the installation of dimmers on all of your lighting elements. A dimmer gives you the ultimate control over your lighting environment. You could take the time to adjust the wattage in every bulb in the room until you achieve the perfect balance between your general, accent and task lighting, but that still just gives you one look. As you know, a space changes dramatically from day until night and the dimmers will allow you to make adjustments in the lighting scheme to showcase your space. Whether you are having a brightly lighted super bowl party or a dimly lighted romantic dinner, dimmers will give you the ability to create any mood you desire.
Through well planned general lighting, accent lighting and task lighting, you can easily make your home look like a design statement rather than an ordinary room. You can add value to your home as well as showcase the furniture and collectibles that you cherish.
Brett Vance is a contributing writer for the Atlanta Design Directory. http://www.atlantadesigndirectory.com/atlantalighting
Tags: accent lighting, designer, lighting, task lighitng
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