As far as external structure goes, windows are essential when providing a house with character and personality, as well as allowing light to illuminate the interiors of your home. Lights provide the exact same function, but internally! Here at Pod, we have an array of lamps to suit different interior tastes and different lighting moods. Let’s discuss how you can enable your lighting setup to enhance the rest of your living space.
Types of Lighting
There are four methods of lighting that are typically employed within the home. These are:
- Task lighting: it’s all in the name! The function of this style of lighting is to aid in performing tasks in its given room. Task lighting is usually most vital in rooms such as the kitchen or home office.
- Ambient lighting: ambient lighting involves the use of light colour, light temperature and light brightness to create a level of lighting that is comfortable and even light level throughout a space. Ambient lighting is used to influence the mood and atmosphere in a room.
- Accent lighting: accent lighting focuses on a specific object or area within the room – it is used to highlight and focus on specific objects. For example, a wall laden with artwork might have spotlights positioned above it.
- Decorative lighting: decorative lighting is perhaps the most miscellaneous of the bunch. This style of lighting is purely for aesthetics and placing extra non-essential light where the designer wants it. Decorative lighting can make a room look prettier, brighter and more interesting.
All are essential to take into account when designing a room or space!
Aesthetics
There are two aesthetic components to consider when choosing the lighting for your room – the look of the lamps themselves, and how these lamps will cast light upon their given room.
Consider the style of your room – think colours, materials, shapes etc. The idea is to find a lamp (or lamps) that will either match or accentuate these features. For instance, metal ceiling lights will look fantastic in a room that has industrial themes, while naturally finished wooden table lamp bases will fit in perfectly in a room with a rustic look.
The look of the lampshade will also be important. While there is not much variation in material used for lampshades, consider the colour, patterns, etc. and see how you can make the light either blend in or stand out within your room.
The main types of lighting to consider when putting a room together are floor lamps, wall lamps, ceiling lights and table lamps – and each of these, furthermore, contains specific subtypes. Not every room will have a requirement for every type – its completely about how you want your room to be illuminated.
When it comes to how the light spreads around the room there’s a number of factors to consider. Do you want there to be a focal lighting point in the room? How intense do you want/need the lighting to be? Do you want the lighting to be more on the aesthetic side, or more on the functional side? (i.e., rooms for entertaining will fare better with dimmer and more colourful lighting setups, where as lighting in a functional room such as a kitchen is necessary to performing tasks – more on this below). The light amount and how it will spread is definitely something that should be given a lot of thought before you go shopping – after all, it will affect how you see the rest of the room!
Classic Lighting Options
More traditional lighting styles are timeless – meaning the piece you buy will not look out of place in a number of years. They’re also easier to style and match with other furnishings in the room, and won’t detract if there’s another object present you want to be the main focus.
More traditional lighting styles will incorporate materials such as glass, coppers, and wood – typical materials that can be found within the design choices of most people’s homes.
Here are some examples:
Bolder Lighting Options
Less traditional styles of lighting will work really well in rooms that are mainly designed for entertaining, as the lights can become the main focus and the designer can be rather experimental in their lighting choices.
Again, this can work in the actual structure of the lamp in question or how it spreads the light – different, playfully coloured LEDs are also worth considering.
Here are some examples of bolder lighting setups:
Wall Lights, Floor lamps, Table lamps, Ceiling Lights– or All Lighting?
Whether or not you need each individual type of lamp in a room is entirely dependent on the size of the room and what you think it will need.
Wall lamps – wall lamps are particularly beneficial when it comes to accent lighting – they look stunning when they are placed on either side of an ornamental mirror or framing artwork.
Floor lamps – floor lamps function great for task lighting when it is required in the likes of a living room or a bedroom – perhaps for a reading nook or a place to knit or sew. Floor lamps also work brilliantly for ambient light in relaxing rooms such as these.
Table lamps – table lamps are primitively used for task lighting – such as to read or to study – but also can be used with regards to decorative lighting.
Ceiling lights – the ceiling pendant should function as an all-rounder – it can function as an ambient light, especially when dimmable; it should always be capable of being bright enough to be used as task lighting; it can be decorative, especially if colourful LEDs are used; and, if there is a centrepiece you would like to draw attention to in a room, it may absolutely be used to accent it. Smaller ceiling lights are almost always used either for the function of accenting or ambiance.
Kitchen Lighting – the Importance of Task Lighting
In the kitchen there is always potential for something to spill, break, or otherwise be unsafe – arguably, lighting serves its most important household function within the walls of the kitchen.
Task lighting in the kitchen will most commonly come in the form of ceiling lights – both the central pendant but also spotlights. In a modern kitchen, especially for home cooks, a central pendant often just isn’t going to be appropriate on its own.
Under-cabinet lighting is also becoming increasingly common in kitchens – mostly in the forms of spotlights but also LED strip lights. These lights may double function as ambient lighting – especially the strips – however, if you are going to be using them for task lighting it is essential that they can be adjusted to be nice and bright. The placement of these under-cabinet lights is also highly important to consider – if they are too far apart they will cast unwanted shadows and detract from tasks.
Ensuring your kitchen lighting is both efficient and effective in aiding with tasks will enable this room to become the vibrant hub of the home it deserves to be!
Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting naturally serves different functions to lighting for interiors. While often used to accent yard items such as a pool or other water feature, outdoor lighting can be used to aid in outdoor entertainment and also for the purposes of safety and security.
