The key to a successful lighting is to decide what or which part of your home do you want to light first. A common mistake that most people make while providing proper lighting to a place is to select the lighting equipment first, because that should be the last stage in the process of lighting.
What is Lighting?
As stated by ‘Gary Gordon, Fies, Fiald, LC’ (Published in Interior Lighting for Designers), “lighting is the process of integrating light into the fabric of architecture”, regardless of any space to be lighted, be it a church, gallery, home, or any other place, the process of lighting always remains the same. The important thing is to not just light a place with lights, but to observe which objects and surfaces receive it.
Lighting Appearance
Installing the proper lighting facilities is a crucial part of any home. A proper lighting is essential to draw attention and bring out the colours of a room. Lighting ties the whole appearance of the room together. Here, the colour tone plays an important role and brightness is a function of colour. While speaking of colour tones, we preferably say colour hues, which are used to highlight a room and to define its meaning. Without lighting, a room is hardly complete, because it is obvious that you won’t be able to see anything. While natural light is not always available to us at times, artificial lighting has a wide variety of options with something for everyone.
Why Lighting is Important?
Before buying all of your furniture, you must consider all the types of light you want and where you want to install it. Lighting is one such aspect which is never given too much of thought. However, by simply changing the quantity and source of light, the whole room will begin to give a different vibe. There are various types of lighting that you can use for your home interiors. You can have the best colors and the most gorgeous furniture but if your lighting lacks the power it needs, the whole look will fail to impress. Here comes the role of illumination (light intensity). More number of fixtures provide more illumination. It is the human eye which perceives luminance (brightness) and not illumination.
There is also the factor of maintenance in lighting, where you need to take proper care while selecting the lights of your room. It is interconnected with the type of lights you use. The kind of fixtures that will be suitable for different kinds of rooms is also a major concern. The type of fixtures you choose is a crucial part of lighting because at the time of changing bulbs you will see the changes. There is a whole range of trending fixtures, which is very tedious to choose from because their designs can be catchy and tempting, but at the same time their maintenance is difficult while changing the bulbs.
Types of Lighting
Here are some of the products which will serve the purpose of lighting and will look amazing as well. Basically, there are three types of lighting: ambient (basic), task, and accent. Based on their purpose, the different types of lighting that you may use for your home interiors are given as follows:
01. Chandeliers
Nothing can beat a good old chandelier. It is an ambient lighting. Their majestic beauty and classic elegance elevate and add glamour to the room. It is great for living rooms that have higher ceilings or which can be relatively well-lit with the just one accessory. Chandeliers work well in foyers, over the large dining room tables, and bedrooms as well as guest rooms. The chandeliers are designed to illuminate large rooms but can also enhance the look of a small room. Markets currently possess chandeliers of different types, sizes, shapes, and styles. It is very important to choose the color tone of the light, such as the yellow tone goes well with wooden interiors, while on the other hand, white is best for rooms with dark colors. Small bulbs are available for lighting up the chandeliers.
02. Wall Sconces
Wall sconces are a type of versatile lights, which are meant to add flair to the room. They are a great choice to add in any place in your home and are task lights. Stairways and long hallways are some of the common places to use sconces, to help and light the way and add decoration as well. These are also called as task lighting. Lampshades and wall sconces are few of the amazing tools for selective lighting. The reach of these lamps is only restricted to a section of the room. These add a chic and compact look to the room. By letting out light in a particular direction, these wall sconces become very useful to control the level and amount of light in a particular area. Wall sconces can be used anywhere, both indoors and outdoors, and when used in lampshades, it looks better on tabletops and around seating areas. The shade of the lamp always depends on the wall colours. White lights are better for indoor areas, while the yellow lamps can be used for the outdoor section.
03. Table Lamps
A table lamp is a small electric lamp, which is placed on a table or any other piece of furniture. It is an accent lighting as well as task lighting depending on how you use it. It can either be placed on a work table or desk where the direct light is important. A table lamp can also be used as a reading light. It creates a soothing illumination in all the rooms of your home. It is a piece of equipment holding electric light.
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04. Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are a wonderful way to add style to your home and give it a modern touch. It is a light fixture that is mounted on the ceiling and hangs down from it. They can also be hung on a wall. These lights work effectively well in working spaces and dining rooms. They can be used for reading purposes. Depending on the style and placement of the pendant, you can use these lights for ambient, task, or accent lighting. Being sleek and simple, they fit perfectly with any setting and minimize the need for having additional accessories in the room. As the light spreads across the ceiling and is reflected back, it helps to see more well-lit space in the room. These lights generally are in a pair of two or three and all having a common switch for lighting.
05. Spot Lighting
Spot lighting is very helpful if you want to highlight a particular corner or selective area. These help in providing due attention by directing the light in specific areas. Whether it is highlighting an artwork or for study tables, these lights are perfect. Spotlights is often used for the purpose of reading. Being compact in size, their lens and light are organized in such a way that it maximizes the light it emits on the selected areas. This helps to bring out the beauty and lets the object to shine. You can place them on the ceiling to create a washing effect to illuminate the space beautifully. It is very useful for accent lighting depending on where you place them. It is especially placed in living rooms for highlighting. One switch has the capacity to operate many lights from many fixtures.
06. Under-Cabinet Lighting
Under-cabinet lighting is perfect for kitchens, dressing areas, and bathrooms. They are the ultimate task lights, which is fitted at the bottom of the cabinets and is an excellent way to add extra light, especially on shelves. They give the extra focus especially where it is required the most. Being placed in such spaces can increase the efficiency of your work, especially while chopping, writing, or drawing smaller text and objects. With its convenient light, it helps enhance precision. Moreover, they bring due attention to the decorative pieces which are placed under the cabinets on the shelves.
07. Fairy Lights
Being highly versatile, fairy lights are perfect for indoor decorations and balconies. These also look great alongside the walls or next to the decorative pieces. These also make wonderful photo walls. You can experiment a lot with their positioning and styles. Being light, they can be hung over objects as well. You can also place these in the corridors, which would help provide it the necessary lighting and give it the much-required minimalistic look as well.
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08. Recessed Lighting
Recessed lighting is a small and compact form of lighting that fits the ceiling. Yes, this is only possible if you have a false ceiling; which is an added expense for a common man. They are ambient lighting when placed on a dimmer switch. Hence, they are categorized under low lighting. These are a good replacement for tube lights and are highly useful. The color of the recessed lights depends on the size and wall color of the room. These can be put anywhere, regardless of the nature of the room. They are not effective in illuminating an entire room. You might need multiple lights, depending on the size of your room. These are not heavy at all, and they fit well onto the walls without any chance of causing any damage. Moreover, they add to the aesthetic appeal of the room.
Conclusion
Good lighting is the deciding factor of the look of any room, be it either the bedroom or living room. You can have the best décor in the world, but the secret is to always install good lighting to bring out beauty of your home. You can experiment with a lot of things, from walls to ceiling and even objects can have lights attached to them. All you need to do is to spend some time to think and decide what you love, as this is what will make the ultimate difference in your home decor. This is one aspect where you must invest. Another measurement of light is luminance, sometimes called brightness. This measures the light “leaving” a surface in a particular direction, and considers the illuminance on the surface and the reflectance of the surface.
Also, it is important that you become energy efficient. Hence, you should prefer using LED lights. Not only it saves your money with less electricity bills, but also enhances the aesthetics of the room. You can also use one switch to control two lights at the same time, for instance, pendant lamps and recessed lights can be controlled using a single switch. Lighting contributes to the aesthetics of any room. This is the reason why one should give utmost focus to the lighting of the house. I hope this article has enlightened you with different types of lightings which you can use at your home.
Here’s a video to sum up all the points mentioned above:
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Author Bio
Ankur Chowdhury – Ankur Chowdhury is an avid writer and an Aerospace Engineer with immense interest in home decoration.