Importance of Lighting in Interior Design

Great lighting creates depth and height, cosy spots, and draws attention to your most impressive areas. It's all about the balance of light and ... Login Theimportanceoflightingininteriordesign 29/09/2020 Creatinganinteriordesignprojectwithoutalightingdesignerislikegoingoutfordinnerandonlyeatingwhat’sinthebreadbasket.Thebreadmaybeexcellent,butyou’remissingoutonmanymoreinterestingdishes.Expertlyplacedlightingaddsanotherdimensiontoaspace,bringinganinteriordesignprojecttolife. Greatlightingcreatesdepthandheight,cosyspots,anddrawsattentiontoyourmostimpressiveareas.It’sallaboutthebalanceoflightandshadeandbringingnewenergytoaninterior.Anarchitectorinteriordesignermayjustdrawagridofdownlightsintotheirplansforyourinterior,whichwon’tdojusticetowhattheyhavedesigned.Callinginlightingexpertstoworkinharmonywithyourinteriordesignerorarchitectwillmaximisetheimpactofyourspace. WeaskedDesignAssociateSabrinaFiorinatohighlighttheimportanceoflightingininteriordesign. Howimportantislightingininteriordesign? Lightingisasimportantaseveryotherelementofthedesign.Goodlightingchangesandtransformsaspace.Weuselightandshadetomakearoomfeelcomfortablebutalsodramaticandatmospheric.Let’ssaywewanttohighlightanartworkonawall,weneedadownlighttohittheartworkbutincombinationwithadarkerareaaround–thisthendrawsoureyetothepainting. Ourskillisartfullycombiningdownlights,uplights,walllights,floorlights,hiddenlights,featurelights,integratedarchitecturallighting,pendantsandlampstoaddvastinterestanddepthtoeachroom.Weapplydifferentstrategiesfordifferentsolutions.WemayilluminatespecialfeaturessuchasanoccasionaltablewithflowersusingPolespringdownlightwithanarrowbeam,butwecombineitwithmoregeneralhighlightingoptions.Lightingabeautifulcurtainfabricwillbedoneinadifferentwaytocreatingtargetedbrightareasfortaskssuchascooking,reading,orworkingatadesk. Whatimpactdoesdaylighthaveininteriordesign? Daylightisacrucialfactorforalldesigners.Interiordesignersandlightingdesignerswillmonitorhowdaylightenterseachspacetheyworkon–itwillaffectwhereeverythingispositioned.It’sasimportantasartificiallight.Inalivingspacewithexpansiveglazing,daylightwillpourinmakingitfeelbrightandopen.Sothenwethinkhowtohandletheartificiallight–andofferdifferentoptionsthroughouttheday.AgreyafternooninLondonlooksverydifferenttoabrightsunnymorninginDubaiandwillrequiredifferentlighting. Architecturallightsstillplayarolewherethere’sdaylight.Useittobrightendarkspotsinshelving,addbrilliancetoataskareaortohighlightartworks.LEDlinearstripswillbringawarmthtojoineryandkeyfeaturesinyourroomandmaybeneededwiththenaturallighttoaddfocusandsoftness.Thekeysolutionistomanagelightingoptionsfordifferenttimesofdayusingacombinationofdaylightandartificiallight.Wecanhavepre-setoptionsonaswitchpadtoachievetheoptimumresults. Whatimpactdoesartificiallighthaveininteriordesign? Artificiallightcreatesvisualstimulation–we’realwaysdrawntothebrightestpointinaroom,soweuseartificiallighttoaccentuatespecificfeaturesinthespace.Inakitchen,thesemightbeflowersonakitchenislandordiningtablewhichwe’llhighlight.Wewillalsobringfocustotheroom’sedgestobroadentheperspective.Wemayaddsubtlelighttoverticalsurfacessuchascupboardsusingperimeterlights,whichwillcreatereflectedlightoffthosesurfaces. Gettingthefunctionaltasklightingright,toprepareameal,makeadrink,orsimplyseewhat’sinsidethecupboards,isvital,too.Diffuselightisusedforgeneralwarmth.Awell-designedvariedartificiallightingschemewilladdbrightness,momentsofdrama,layersanddepth. Whatisdecorativelightingininteriordesign? Decorativelighting–suchasadramaticpendant,interestingwalllightorfeaturelamp–doesmorethanaddattractiveobjectstoaroom.Oureyemaybedrawntoalargeandpleasingpendantoveratable,buttheworkofacoupleofdownlightseithersidewillreallyaddtothequalityofthelight. Decorativelightingisimportantbutagoodlightingdesignerwillcombineitwitharchitecturallightingforthebestresults.Forasoftlate-afternooncosiness,youmayjustturnonthedecorativelightingtowatchTV,orreadyourbookunderaprettylamp,orenjoyanaperitif.Atothertimes,youwillneedafullercombinationoflights. Whatisarchitecturallightingininteriordesign? Architecturallightingencompassesacombinationofconcealedlightingplacedwithinthearchitectureorjoinery.Downlights,uplights,LEDstriplights,floorwashersetcareourtoolboxtocreateaninterestingspace,andtheytendtobehiddenamidthearchitecture.Theyareusedbothtoemphasizematerialsandtoprovidegeneralillumination.Whenintegratedintojoinerysuchasshelving,cupboardsorarchitecturalcoffers,thislightprovidesdepth,areasofinterestandlayersoflightaroundtheroom. Inanolderhouse,youmayhaveinterestingplasterworkthatcouldbehighlightedwitharchitecturallighting,orfeaturecolumnswhichcanbelitfrombelow.Architecturallightingisusefultootoleadyoureyesthroughspacesintoanadjoiningroom,alongacorridororupyourstairs.Positioningacoupleofuplightsnearthedoorwayorinwindowsillscanframeyourviewout.Youcanalsousearchitecturallightingoutside.Spikelightsshedanewlightontreesanduplightscanbringanewperspectivetoatexturedwall.Frominside,theseoutsidearchitecturallightsdrawyoureyesbeyondtheglassofyourlivingspace,addingdepth. Howdoyougettherightmixofdecorativeandarchitecturallightinginyourinteriordesign? Asuccessfulandflexiblelightingschemewillalwayshaveamixofdecorativeandarchitecturallighting.Ourjobistolookatyourspaceorplans,playwithideasandthenplanlayersoflightinthespacetoachieveabalanceoflight.We’relookingforahappymixofambientlight,accentlight,andarchitecturallighting. Thewowfactorisoftenachievedwithhiddenlightingdetails.Let’sheadbacktothekitchen:youmayhavedownlightsabovethekitchenisland,butaddinganLEDstripunderneathaddslayeringanddrama.It’sonlyprovidinglow-levelbrightness,butatnightthissimpletrickwillalterthefeelingofthespace.Anotherexampleisatablewithabanquette:ifyouaddanLEDstripatthebackofthebanquettetouplightthewallsbehind,youcreateadifferentatmosphereandimpressionofawiderspace.Ifyouhaveacofferwithoutlightitwillprobablybarelybenoticed,butbyaddinganLEDstrip,youuplighttheceiling.Thisceilingglowalsomakesthewholeroomfeelmuchbrighterbyreflectinglightbackintothespace. WhatqualityoflightdoIneedformyinteriordesignproject? LEDlightsarewhatweusetoday,butthequalityofeverysinglelighthasabigimpactonthespace.Wealwaysthinkaboutthequalityofcolourtemperatureandcolourconsistency.Forus,ahigh-qualityfittingwithaCRI(colourrenderingindex)above90willofferthemostnaturallight.CRIisthevaluethatindicateshowwellthelightreplicatesthetruecolouroftheobjectyou’rehighlighting.Reds,deepbluesanddeepgreenslookmuchtruerwhenhighlightedwithahighCRIlight. Ifyou’reusingafewdownlightsinaspace,particularlywithwhiteorneutralwalls,youneedconsistencyofcolourtemperatureforallthelights.ThisismeasuredinKelvins.Architecturallightingcanhaveaslightlycoolercolouroflight–2,700K,anddecorativeitemssuchastablelamps,walllightsandpendantsworkbetterwithawarmercolour–2,400K.Ourjobistocreateaharmony.Youmightuseceilinglightsanduplightswith2700Kandhaveyourdecorativeon2,400K.ThentheLEDstripsinsidethejoinerycouldhaveasimilarcolourwarmthtoyourdecorativelighting. Whenshouldyouhirealightingdesigner? Assoonasyouandyourinteriordesignerorarchitecthaveaplanwithfurnitureplacement,callthelightingdesigners.Yourfinalprojectwillbestrongerifweworkwithaninteriordesignerorarchitect,sothatfittingscanbefullyintegratedintothefinaldesign.Sometimesonlargerprojectswe’llworkwithaprojectmanager.Wewanttogetthebestresultforyourspaceandtheearlierweareinvolvedthefewertweakswillneedtotakeplacelateron. Readmoreaboutourlightingdesignserviceandhowitcantransformyourproject. RelatedNews ChristmasOpeningTimes SeeourcurrentopeningtimesovertheChristmasandNewYearperiod... ContinueReading WinneroffourProductAwards TwoproductsdesignedbytheJohnCullenteamwinfourawardsatthe2020LITLightingAwards. ContinueReading ACollectorExtraordinaire'sHome SeethemagicallightingforthecolourfulhomeoftheownersofKaleidoscopeCollectionofhotels,IanandChristaTaylor,withtheirincrediblecollectionsintheirlargeterracehouse. 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