Let The Light Shine In, Appropriately
Have you ever had dinner in a room that was so poorly lit you weren’t sure if you were being served a salad or an entree? Or the lights were so bright that you felt like you were being interrogated? Lighting that is too dim or blasts you with a hot spotlight not only is annoying but diminishes the beauty and function of your home. By understanding and applying the basics of proper lighting you can bring warmth, beauty and utility to any room.
Types of Lighting
There are three basic types of lighting: ambient, task and spot lighting. To assess the use of all three in your home, wait until nightfall, turn on the lights and tour each room of your home, checking for each type of lighting. Look for dark areas or shadows and for uncomfortably bright areas.
Ambient light is a diffuse, warm light that fills a room and casts no shadows. This type of illumination should be sufficient to allow you to move safely through a room, have a conversation or watch TV comfortably. Ambient lights can provide enough light to read or work at a desk, but they may need to be supplemented. Ceiling fixtures generally do not provide sufficient ambient lighting. Ways to provide or augment this type of lighting:
• A pair of matching table or floor lamps, with white or off-white shades and three way bulbs, placed to either side of the sofa, or on either side of a bed.
• Torchieres placed in one or two corners of the room.
• Wall sconces (those that do not require installation by an electrician come with a cord cover and can be plugged into the nearest outlet) may be screwed into the wall near a reading chair, by a piano or a desk.
• Recessed lights placed at carefully spaced intervals, supplemented with one or several of the above. Be aware that this type of fixture requires installation by an electrician, can cast unflattering shadows and should be controlled by a dimmer.
Task Lighting illuminates the area where you read, work or eat. The height of the lamp is very important – too high and the glare of the bulb is irritating, too low and the fixture may block your view or provide inadequate lighting. Table and floor lamps can double as ambient and task lighting when placed next to a reading chair or on a desk. Clip-on lamps, small table lamps and pharmacy lamps all are good sources of task lighting. Pendant lamps and chandeliers are traditional sources of light over eating areas.
Spot lighting is used to draw attention to or highlight an area or object, such as a piece of artwork. Use spot lighting only if you have adequate ambient lighting. Track lights, recessed lights with fittings to direct the light in a certain direction, picture lights, and tabletop spots are useful in drawing attention to wherever they’re pointed.
Budget Lighting
If your analysis indicates you need more light and you’re on a budget:
• Scrounge around for something unusual - a teapot, a cowboy boot, flowerpot, antique oil lamp, a trumpet, a wine bottle, a vase or an olive-oil can – add lamp guts and convert it into a new light source. Most hardware stores carry all you need to make a lamp.
• If your lamp is fine, but the shade is shot, replace it. Or, if the shade has a smooth surface, try decoupaging it with pictures from magazines, squares of fabric, leaves, cut-out shapes traced from cookie cutters, antique fruit labels, etc.
• Remove or tie back window treatments that block the natural light; add strategically placed mirrors.
• If you are patient and practice the Zen of shopping, you can find inexpensive fixtures at flea markets and garage sales. And brake for all yard sales.
Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: kit@ctwfeatures.com
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