Illuminating Homes
Without proper lighting, even the most beautifully decorated and furnished room feel dull and lifeless. Well-lit rooms are the key to a warm, mind soothing environment setting a subtle mood.
Each room in our home deserve a good combination of general lighting, task lighting and accent lighting to impart adequate amount of illumination. Table and floor lamps, which typically fall under the task lighting category, are especially important because they play both a functional and decorative role in your home. When selecting lamps to suit your lighting needs and taste; size, shape and style all need to be taken into account in home decor.
Beautifully illuminated homes manifest more sophistication and set a warmer and cozier mood. Wrongly located lamps may fail to provide that beautiful ambience to the rooms. Furthermore, picking lamps that harmonize with your personal style or your home decor is also an integral part when buying them. With so many designs and variety of choices, it is bound to be overwhelming. Here are some basic tips to consider that will help you choose the right ones.
if you want the lamp to illuminate an entire room or provide light for reading, a translucent shade is the best choice.
Shades
An interesting lampshade with a bold pattern, or an interesting texture or decorative touches like beads or tassels will add the boost to the texture of a room. Another important factor to consider when choosing a lamp shade is how much light you need the lamp to cast. For example if you want the lamp to illuminate an entire room or provide light for reading, a translucent shade is the best choice. However, if the lamp is strictly an accent piece, an opaque shade for a dramatic look would be better.
Proper Placement
After selecting the right lamps, deciding where to place them is equally important. Generally, floor lamps are best to brighten corners and reading areas. If you have a dark corner in a room, the simple addition of a lamp will work wonders for the room. Table lamps are great for filling out the rest of the room.
Sizes
Make sure the size of your lamp coordinates with the surface it is placed. A huge lamp on a very small table is not very appropriate. It will look disproportionate and chances are, it might also be bumped into or knocked over. Likewise, a very small lamp will look out of place in a large room. As for the scale of the lamp itself, the shade should be one-half to three-fourths the size of the base and should hide the internal hardware of the lamp.
Setting Moods
Lamps are one of the integral statement décor pieces that set the ambience of the home. You can create different moods on different areas of the room, at different times of the day by using different types of lighting.
• To emphasize wall paintings, ornaments or other interesting areas in a room, accent lighting such as a spot light is used.
• To create a gentle romantic mood, soft lighting such as small wall light fittings or table lamps are used.
• To use for everyday purpose general lighting such as a ceiling center light, strip light or bright wall lamps are used.
Tip: use a dimmer switch to create different moods with your lighting.
Experts Say
It is essential to create an effective spread of light through each room and have it flow seamlessly between rooms. The best way to achieve this balance in a well-decorated room is to layer light sources.
The first step to lighting design is to identify the main activity areas or the room’s focal points. Any room with multiple focal points will be the most visually interesting and balanced. This is where the brightest layer of light should be directed.
The next step is a middle layer of light that provides interest in specific areas without detracting from focal points.
The last layer fills in the background.
The first two layers are supplied by task and/or accent lighting, depending on what is being lit. The third and lower-level ambient lighting is usually indirect like that provided by wall sconces. Once the essential layers are in place then the decorative pieces can be added in the room.
