Designing an Interior Lighting Plan
Designing an interior lighting plan will allow you to highlight specific areas with the types of lighting that are best for each room. For example, an office or a study will need lighting that is easy to read under without hurting your eyes. A kitchen will need bright lighting, and you may want softer lighting in a living area. Designing your own lighting plan isn't difficult.
The design of your home, the type of room, and your individual preferences will all need to be considered when you design an interior lighting plan. You may want natural lighting in some areas and accent lighting in others.
Understand Different Types of Lighting
When you start looking at the lighting for your home you'll run across several terms. If you understand these terms you'll be more equipped to design a great lighting scheme. For instance, task lighting is used in areas where reading or crafting will require lighting in specific locations. Ambient lighting provides soft light to a larger area for comfort. Accent lighting is used in areas where you want to highlight something specific like artwork. Natural lighting provides you light during daylight hours without the assistance of electric lights.
Color and Furniture Considerations
Once you have your home set up you can start to look at the different lighting options available. It's best to at least know what kind of decor you plan on using if you haven't already set everything up. This will let you choose lighting that will best enhance the room. Darker rooms and rooms with darker furniture will need brighter lighting to avoid a dungeon type feel. Rooms with lots of windows will likely only need small amounts of ambient lighting for the night hours. The colors of the room, the furniture, the accent pieces and the function will all play in to the best lighting design.
Mixing Elements
One of the easiest ways to ensure you have a lighting design that will always work is to make use of different types of lighting. An office or library room may have great natural lighting, but adding some functional lighting will allow the room to be utilized regardless of the time of day. That same room can serve as a great place to rest and relax or entertain a few guests with some basic ambient lighting. Having a lamp on a table near your favorite chair, a few sconces on the wall and large windows will let you combine all of these elements. You want to think about this for each room when you design a lighting plan.