Lighting is a crucial design element when it comes to accessorizing and decorating your home. “Lighting is not simply to eliminate darkness; it is a creative ingredient in successful design,” said Deborah Kreye, ASID, interior designer with Vogue Interiors. Part of a design plan needs to include how to illuminate a space effectively and not to simply focus on the fixture itself. Make sure that your rooms are correctly illuminated with just the right amount of light. Over-lit or under-lit rooms can become uncomfortable rooms to be in. To know if a room is illuminated correctly take the total number of watts in the room (generally a 4″ can will have a 65 watt lamp) and divide by the square footage of the room. You want to be as close to .8 as possible. Here are some examples of different lighting applications.
Creating A “Path” Of Light
Use wall sconces to create a subtle “path” of light through the home. This can create a directional visual element to lead people in a logical progression.
Lighting Artwork
Highlight artwork in your home with spot lighting or track lighting. Spot lighting can be focused directly on one piece whereas track lighting can illuminate an entire gallery.
Track Lighting
Spot Lighting
Lighting For Architectural Details
Architectual details of a home can be accentuated with lighting. Highlight a recessed cove with concealed cove lighting.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting can be either direct of indirect. Ambient lighting can be a hidden light sources that washes a room with a glow. Temporary ambient effects can be achieved with a dimmer.
