Lighting is almost always overlooked by DIY’ers. The type, quantity and quality of your lighting makes a huge difference in how your space looks and feels. Here are some of the pro lighting moves we live by:

It’s about layers

Developing a lighting plan is like dressing for fall - it’s all about the layering. When designers speak about layers of lighting, we’re generally talking about:

Ambient, task and accent lighting.

You need all 3. We’ll now break down what they are and how to make them work.

AMBIENT

Design: Studio 1NINE1 / Photo: Valerie Wilcox

Ambient lighting sets the mood and tone of a space. This layer is meant to disperse/wash into a space, usually dimmable to tailor for times of day and the exterior natural light. A common mistake is to use only ambient lighting. If we ONLY use ambient, the result can be quite gloomy and unwelcoming as well as lacking function. (ie: turning on the overhead light to read before bed? ).

TASK

As the second layer, task lighting is intentionally chosen for specific activities and purpose. Task lighting tends to be more intense in it’s illumination. Typical applications are in the kitchen, around prep and cooking areas as well as office/reading nooks and under cabinets in a bathroom.

ACCENT

Accent lighting is mostly centered in living areas where there’s more design focus on views, leisure and interest. Accent lighting is a tool for drama and interest above all else. Wall mounted lights and track with spots to illuminate details in a room are examples of accents at work.

That’s the deal with lighting. The skill and art in the next step is creating the ideal combination of these for the result you’re after. Try it out yourself or, you can always drop us a line via our contact form to talk about your project :)

All of the lights

AMBIENT

TASK

ACCENT

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