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Together with the colour and design of a room, the lighting can have an important effect on the overall finished look and the ambience you’re looking for. To be sure you are using the right light for the room, you need to see what the space will be used for. There are three basic types of lighting that you can use, let’s take a look at them. Here is how to use accent, ambient, and task lighting in your home.
What is Ambient Lighting?
Ambient lighting is the best choice for you if you want to create a warm and cosy environment.
The best use for this type of lighting is if you want to create an even light and brightness that can illuminate the entire room and there are many different products on the market that can do that job. It’s not designed for specific tasks like reading a book or cooking, but it does create a soothing atmosphere that can help set the mood.
Often, this type of lighting doesn’t have a specific focus but instead provides a well-lit room. You can find good examples on sites like Pagazzi Lighting Solutions, and incorporate many types of light.
What is Accent Lighting?
Ambient lighting is one that you can use if you want to focus on a particular part of the room. As an example, if you have a picture on the wall, a wall-mounted light just above the picture would be an example of accent lighting.
Ideally, they should be three times that of the ambient lighting to give you the best balance. They can be used on any feature you want to illuminate from arches to plants and collections.
While wall-mounted lights are the most popular option, you can also use track lighting and other recessed lights to do the same job.
Designing With Task Lighting
As the name implies, task lighting is used to illuminate an area where a task is being performed. It is typically focused on one task or area of the home and not in the general vicinity. This type of light is used to make it easier to read a book, use the computer at desks, or prepare dinner in kitchen workspaces.
The good thing about task lighting is you can have one light on instead of illuminating the whole room.
These types of lights are popular for kitchen diners as well. You can use pendant bar lights, desk or table lamps, or slim line bars to get the effect you want.
Mix and Match Your Lighting
Although these three types of lighting have different functions, there is no reason why you can’t mix and match them to create a quality atmospheric room.
Your room could have ambient mood lighting for most occasions, but also have accent lighting to bring out various materials and features in the room.
One room that uses these three types of lights well is the kitchen. You would have a main ambient light for most of the time, but you may also have accent lighting for pictures or storage. You can then use task lighting for the kitchen diner area or breakfast nook. If that’s is the style you’re going for then the value of lighting will be of no problem to you.
Final Thoughts
With these three types of lighting fixtures, you can do any design you wish and perform any task that needs lighting. Remember that along with the lighting, you also need to have a design that will complement it. The current trend suggests that while cool and clean designs are still popular, there is also a strong retro theme running at the moment.
