Designing with light
Accent lighting is one of the best ways to create atmosphere in a room’s design. But it’s often overlooked. Don’t let this happen to you. My earlier post showed off a couple of light fixtures that not only light the room, they add texture to the design. Before you hire the painter, think about your lighting design. Here are a few useful tips.
Wash a wall with light. This is the simplest way to add some drama. It’s also a great way to throw accent onto your artwork. For a standard, 8′ ceiling height, install 4″ adjustable downlights about 18″ out from the wall. Your designer or electrician (if s/he’s a good one) can help. The effect, as I said, is dramatic. Centering artwork beneath adds highlights.
Let the sun add the accent. Think about how and when the sun filters through your room. Use that light to create an effect like the one above. A lazer-cut fabric, room dividers (like the one above) and rugged blinds can both filter the light and add drama.
Accent furniture. Wash a wall from below. Imagine how blah this restaurant would look without the accent lighting on the tables. Use downlights to highlight areas in your room, such as the main seating area in a living room, a sculpture, even a staircase. Light things from below to create a soft accent. An inexpensive way to accomplish this is with fairy lights tucked behind a screen.
Create accent light that doubles as a utility. The downlights here focus on the sink and other parts of this bathroom, but in a really creative way. Again, this bath would be blah without them.
Sometimes less is more. I wish this pool lived at my house. Here, the simple lighting inside the pool makes the statement. The candles are the frosting on this romantic cake.
To sum things up, downlighting is, compared to furniture and fabrics, inexpensive. Why not use it to create a mood? The use of dimmers can add to this effect. Set the accent lights on a separate switch so you can alter the mood to suit the event. To find out more, visit a store that specializes in lighting.
images: Hans Fonk, Rockwell
2 Responses to “Designing with light”
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Posted by At Home with Kim Vallee on March 24th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
The shadow effect of the laser-cut fabric, room dividers is awesome. Well-planned accent lighting creates an atmosphere that is second-to-none because it feels so theatrical.
Hi Jennifer, You make some very good points here! I love the way you said “before you hire the painter.” You cannot imagine how many times people thought that they liked the color only to get it under their own lighting and then be disappointed. As you mentioned lighting plays a very big part on the way furnishings look in a room as well as flooring.
This is why I recommend that people take home a swatch or a sample of whatever it is that they are working on so that they can see the way that it will look under their lighting.
Scott