Lighting Design: The Basics

When it comes to creating the perfect interior design schemes at home, there’s one absolutely essential aspect that should never be ignored and, in fact, should be one of the first steps you take when working on home improvement projects - and that’s your lighting system.

If you don’t get the lighting right, it won’t matter how well designed the rest of the house is… it will never be shown off at its best, so make sure you factor your lights in at the very beginning, taking into account the room you’re working in and how you intend to use the space.

Before you start shopping for fixtures and fittings, you need to sit down and work out a proper lighting plan for each room of the house, including ambient (natural) light, accent and task lighting, all of which will differ depending on which room you’re working on.

Ambient lighting is the light that comes into your home through the windows, as well as the lighting you bring in to substitute for natural light when none is available. Getting this right is the first step towards a successful lighting scheme and from here, you can build up to bring in accent and task lighting.

When shopping for fixtures for your ambient lighting scheme, look out for the likes of chandeliers, track lighting, recessed ceiling lights and wall sconces.

From here, you can start to think about your task lighting and what you want to achieve in this regard. First of all, think about the room you’re working on and how it’s going to be used. If you’re in the kitchen, for example, you’ll want to ensure you can see what you’re cooking, so lights under kitchen cabinets could prove useful.

But if you’re working on your study, you will probably want to bring in lots of table lamps and swing arm lamps, so you can really focus on work. The right lighting can really help or hinder productivity, so bear this in mind at all times!

And then there’s your accent lighting scheme, which is where you can start to have a bit of fun and really highlight parts of your home that you’re particularly proud of and want to draw attention to.

Before you spend any money, sit down and think about how you want the room you’re in to feel and what you want to highlight, and you’ll find it a lot easier to make all the decisions about fixtures and fittings when it comes down to it.

There are so many options for lighting out there that it can be a bit overwhelming, but if you have a solid lighting plan in mind, you should find it all comes together relatively easily.

For help with interior lighting design, get in touch with Lumination today.