If you have just one depressing lonely light in the middle of the room please disconnect it. Electrician advisable! Why? Because it does nothing to highlight your wonderful displays, focal points and pictures you have created. Light doesn’t get into all those nooks and crannies and corners of a room with a single hanging pendant. It also does nothing for the atmosphere of the room, which is what the whole aim is. What we’re saying is you want to create romance and drama, with the lights. Yeap, exciting huh?
Three types of lighting are required to make an interesting interior. Accent, Ambient and Task lighting.
- Accent lighting for depth and shade, highlighting an area or displaying or wall washing some pictures you have hung.
- Ambient provides the warm pools of back ground lighting to create a soft welcoming mood.
- Task lighting is for things like working, reading & cooking.
Where to start putting the lights? As you have moved around your furniture and got it off the walls, place a couple of table lamps there for starters….do you want to read or sew there? In which case you will need a task light too. What you want to is create is light interest from different sources so you highlight the areas and draw the eye to your focal points. Again they don’t need to be mitchy-matchy-Laura-Ashley, but do make sure they are at different heights to create difference in scale & moods. Above you can see task lighting on the LHS for a desk and then on RHS- love this – putting two lamps together to highlight a corner of a sofa and the modern abstract art behind. Better than the pendant, no?
It doesn’t need to cost a lot of $$$, but does take a little time and imagination. Local chain stores have some cool pieces that add the twist you require. Also vintage lamps can look fabulous with new shades. (Above photos) & Shown this picture before of the vintage lamp below, highlighting a corner of our man cave – bought in the local charity shop, replaced the shade and removed the Nana plinth it was on. Now we have some cool lighting, different to everyone else’s and for a fraction of the cost.
Oh, and Don’t forget candles & fire light too! (Just added the romance). All of this will make a room seem more welcoming.
Room Service Interiors 