Not only can lighting be used to illuminate your home, but it can also be used to beautify your home and emphasize certain aspects.
There are 4 main types of lighting - ambient lighting, task lighting, accent lighting, and decorative lighting.
Using a combination of these lighting types will allow for proper lighting of a room as well as visual interest.
photo courtesy of Tony Hisgett flickr.com/photos/hisgett/17151490716/Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is used to illuminate an entire room evenly.
Ambient light is usually one light in the center of your ceiling from a light fixture or ceiling fan, several recessed lights spread evenly over the ceiling, or natural lighting from windows or skylights.
Bright ambient light is important to enable proper cleaning of a room and so you can see where you are going.
Designer tip - avoid basic strip fluorescent lights in your home because they feel too industrial and are not restful.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is used in a concentrated part of a room where more lighting is needed to perform a task.
Several examples are a reading lamp, a piano lamp, a billiard table lamp, a bedside table lamp, under cabinet lights, or an appliance light.
When in doubt, add more task lighting than you think might be necessary, as long as it can be turned off, so you can set the best mood for your activity.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is used to highlight certain things.
Examples of accent lighting include art lights, plant uplights, Christmas tree lights, lights inside a china hutch, and uplighting that emphasizes a beautiful ceiling.
Decide what is special about your home and give it some light to show it off.
Decorative Lighting
Decorative lighting is lighting in which the light fixture is a focal point in the room.
Chandeliers, decorative candles, light from a fireplace, and beautiful decorative lamps are examples of decorative lighting.
Decorative lighting is often the focal point of the room.
Why not select a beautiful light fixture to enhance the aesthetics of your home instead of a plain basic one?
Tips
Not every room needs all 4 types of lighting, however having multiple types of lighting in a room adds interest.
Don't forget to add dimmers to your lights to be able to adjust your lighting and set the perfect mood for your room (and make sure the light bulbs you have allow dimming).
Most interior designers agree that light bulbs should be 2700-3000 kelvin in color temperature (warm white).
