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Bright with Light


Lighting is the single most effective element for creating drama and mood throughout a space. Good lighting will make your home feel spacious, clean and welcoming. A successful lighting scheme is made up of several layers: natural, general, accent and task light. Here's how each type can enhance your living space.
 

Types of Lighting

1) Natural light:

It's a great asset to any home, but the quality of the light depends on the aspect of the room. To maximize natural light:

 

  • Let light come through windows without interruptions. Replace heavy curtains with blinds or muslin drapes.
  • Choose light and bright paint colors, the lighter the paint the more reflective it is.
  • Carpets are soft, absorbent and hold the light whereas flooring with a high-gloss finish reflects it around the room.
  • Hang mirrors, particularly opposite windows.
2) General Lighting:

General lighting provides overall illumination for the room; it should have sufficient brightness to support the room's basic activities. It is best achieved with a mix of sources, such as a central ceiling-mounted fixture and recessed spotlights around the perimeter.

3) Task Lighting:

Task lighting illuminates for specific jobs, to make working much more comfortable.whether its reading, working at a computer, cooking, or drawing. It needs to be focused on the area you're using.
This type of lighting is best achieved with a mix of sources, such as ceiling fixtures, wall-mounted fixtures, or table lamps.

4) Accent Lighting:

Accent lighting is designed to spotlight the best features in a room and create visual interest adding depth and shade, with shadows in some corners and pools of light in others. It can be used to highlight a glass collection, books on shelves, painting or to bring out the texture of a wall.
Effects are best achieved with track lights, recessed lights, down- lighters, up- lighters, and wall-mounted fixtures. Some table and floor lamps also can provide accent light.
  • Glass: light can be from below or behind. From below, place a row of low-voltage halogen spotlights beneath the shelf or a fluorescent strip hidden from view in a casing. From behind, use fluorescent strips not halogen, which doesn't give the right effect.
  • Books: clip a spotlight on the underside of the shelf.
  • Pictures and paintings: You could mount an adjustable spotlight on a ceiling track and point it at a focal point in the painting.
  • Plants: For a large pot, put an up- lighter or a spotlight recessed into the floor behind it. The light bounces off the floor and the ceiling to create unusual shadows. You can also use tiny light that fit into the pot.
The right light for each room

Our living rooms are now multi-purpose spaces used for everything from watching television and reading to dining, entertaining and hobbies. Start with warm general light to illuminate spaces where people gather.
  • Position a freestanding up-lighter or standard lamp behind the sofa.
  • Use table lamps. They'll radiate light inwards, making the room feel spacious yet cozy.
  • Mount wall lights beside features that won't be moved.
  • For romance or entertaining, use candle create an atmosphere of relaxation and calmness.
The lighting design of a kitchen is highly dependent of its size and configuration. Small kitchens might only demand a central fluorescent fixture and some task lighting under cabinets, but a larger kitchen will demand a more complex lighting.

The most obvious purpose of the dining room is to eat. But the table also may serve as a desk space for your children to do their homework. A traditional chandelier usually works best for general light providing more targeted light for homework. Wall lights can provide a subtler feel.

When the lighting in a bathroom is done well, it can look stunning; just think of all the materials that were made to be bathed in light - porcelain, glass, stainless steel and marble. Small bathrooms might only demand a central ceiling fluorescent fixture and a pair of vanity fixtures, but a larger bathroom demands more lighting elements. The shower is an area where lighting can also have some advantages like recessed light with a glass lens.

General Bedroom lighting should provide relaxation, and the most important bedroom light is the one beside your bed, useful when one of you wants to read or watch TV and the other wants to sleep. You can mount bedside lights on the wall, hotel-style, or simple table lamps beside the bed.
Accent lighting can often be a beautiful accessory on its own, like the sparkle of candlelight or a beaded lampshade.

Light tricks

Making your room appear larger
  • Use up-lighters to bounce light onto the ceiling and walls.
  • Create panels of light at one end of the room, making the space appear longer.
  • Light all four corners of the room.
Making your room appear taller
  • Use vertical light beams.
  • Hang pendant lights low.
Making your room appear cozier
  • Use several table lamps, singularly or in clusters, to create lots of little low pools of light in a large, high room.
  • Don't allow light onto the ceiling.
The shape and composition of a lighting fixture can change the whole look and feel of a room. The shimmer of crystal drops, the romance of etched metal or the clean simplicity of clear glass will each create its own distinct mood, so think of light fixtures as jewelry for your home.

By, Rehab Anany