A common approach to lighting a room is installing one powerful ceiling fixture and expecting it to illuminate everything. While this may provide basic visibility, it can leave a space looking flat, create unwanted shadows and make certain areas unnecessarily bright.
A more flexible approach is layered lighting.
Layered lighting combines different types of illumination to serve different purposes. The three basic layers are ambient, task and accent lighting.
Ambient lighting provides the general illumination of a room. Downlights, ceiling lights and some pendant fixtures can provide this layer. It should give enough light for people to comfortably move around and use the space.
Task lighting is more focused. It provides additional illumination exactly where an activity takes place. Think of lighting over a kitchen worktop, a reading area, a dressing mirror, an office desk or a workshop bench. Instead of making the entire room extremely bright, task lighting puts stronger illumination where it is actually needed.
Accent lighting adds another dimension. It can be used to highlight artwork, shelves, architectural features, textured walls, displays or decorative pieces. Wall lights, LED strips, track lights and selected spotlights can work particularly well for this purpose.
The advantage of this approach is flexibility. A room does not have to look the same throughout the day. During the day, you might rely heavily on natural light and use only selected fixtures. In the evening, ambient lighting can provide general illumination while accent lights create a more relaxed atmosphere.
Lighting controls can make this even more practical. Dimmers, motion sensors, timers and smart switches allow lighting to respond to different situations instead of remaining at full power all the time.
This concept is useful for both homes and businesses. A restaurant can combine ambient lighting with decorative pendants and accent lights. A retail store can use general lighting alongside focused lighting for product displays. A modern home can combine downlights, wall lights, LED strips and pendant fixtures.
At Energymall, lighting options can be selected based on what you want each part of your space to achieve. Instead of asking only how bright a room should be, consider what each area is meant to do.
Good lighting is not necessarily about adding more fixtures. It is about putting the right light in the right place.
