The Three Different Types of Lighting Every Room Needs
Lighting can have one of the most transformative impacts on a space. It can energize a room and create a calming environment; the wrong lighting can make the space feel harsh or dim. Lighting comes in all forms, from ambient to task lighting. Identifying how you want the room to feel is the first step to selecting your desired lighting. Read on for ways to create ambient spaces through illumination.
Ambient lighting
Ambient lighting is the room’s primary source of lighting, or the general lighting. Ambient lighting illuminates the entire room and provides the overall lighting for the room. Ambient lighting is typically overhead. Types of ambient lighting include:
Recessed lighting
The temperature of the lightbulbs has the most significant impact on the feel of the lighting. Light bulbs between 2500 and 2700 Kelvins offer the warmest, coziest glow.
Task lighting
Task lighting targets a specific area of the room, illuminating the space where you’re completing a particular task. Carefully considering the tasks you complete in each room will help you select the types of lighting you need.
These tasks may include:
Prepping food in the kitchen: Under cabinet lighting, table lamp
Reading before bed: Bedside sconce or table lamp
Reading in the living room: Table lamp
Working at your desk: Table lamp
Working throughout your home: A cordless table lamp you can carry with you
Accent lighting
Think of accent lighting as the highlighter of the room. Accent lighting draws focus or highlights particular elements in the home, such as art, built-ins, bookcases, or other decorative items.
Types of accent lighting include:
Art lights or picture lights hung above a piece of art to illuminate the piece or hung on a bookshelf
Sconces on a bookshelf to highlight the bookshelf and the decor pieces that are displayed
Candlelight on the dining table
Layering the lighting
A room with a layered lighting plan is welcoming, has depth, and feels complete. Knowing how you use the room is the first step to selecting the lighting that will help you easily navigate the room and efficiently complete your tasks. There are many different ways to layer lighting, but here’s a go-to formula to help layer the lighting in your home:
Begin with ambient lighting, whether it’s recessed lighting, a chandelier, or pendants. In a kitchen, this could look like a few recessed lights in the ceiling and pendants over the island.
Add task lighting, such as under cabinet lighting and table lamps. In a kitchen, this means under cabinet lighting under the upper cabinets, a few strategically placed petite table lamps on the counters, and sconces above the kitchen sink.
Layer the accent lighting. Art lights, in-cabinet lighting. In a kitchen, hanging an art lamp above a frame on the wall or lighting that illuminates the inside of cabinets adds the final glow to the room.
Like any home update, creating a plan is the best way to ensure your lighting plan meets your goals for the room's function, look, and feel. A thoughtful lighting plan can transform a room and help shape a space’s feeling and mood.