Light it Up!

Today in my Fundamentals of Lighting Class, we talked about the four different kinds of light:

1. Ambient Lighting
2. Task Lighting
3. Decorative Lighting
4. Focal/Display Lighting

It's absolutely amazing how these different kinds of lighting have huge effects on the mood you want to create in your space. The lighting of a room can make or break your space...

MAKE!: well lit with all of the lighting types

BREAK! : only one light source!!!!

Ambient lighting is typically the general lighting that lights up a room. It's the recessed can lights in your kitchen, the wall lighting in your hallway, the floor lamps in your living room... you know, the lights that let you see the room. Check out some of the ambient lighting in kitchens below...

Our kitchen w/ canned lighting

This is a little old school, but the big overhead lights are the ambient lighting
(not my home and certainly not my design)

Can lights and the ceiling up-lighting are both forms of ambient lighting
(Cool space... but not designed by me)

Task lighting is also very familiar to most people. It focuses light on specific places based on the task you are performing. These are the lights under your cabinets in the kitchen that are helpful for seeing what you are doing on the counter; it's the nightstand lamps in your bedroom which allow you to read a night; the desk lamps when you are doing your homework; etc.

Our kitchen's under cabinet task lighting
(no, our counter top is usually not that bare)

Decorative lighting is the fun stuff: the pretty chandeliers or Italian glass pendant lights. It's essentially the jewelry of lighting; its main purpose is to be pretty. And it doesn't have to be super expensive either. Check out this decorative lighting from IKEA in our living room...

IKEA Decorative lighting surrounding our living room TV

Decorative chandelier hanging above dining table
(nope, not my design)

Focal/Display lighting is the accent lighting you put on artwork, inside your china cabinet (for when the President comes to visit), or on something else you want to show off. I don't have any of these in my home... yet, but here are some examples I found on the web... :)

Show off your wine with some display lighting

Draw people's attention to your family photos or artwork with focal track lighting

Ambient and task lighting are crucial for your home, but decorative lighting is also necessary to make your home pop. There is nothing more uninviting than a poorly lit space. Check out these short videos below from Kichler Lighting about lighting spaces well. Hopefully you will be as inspired as I was!

"What was she so inspired to do?" you may be asking. 

Well, stay tuned for an upcoming series on our bathroom remodel project! It's nothing that requires re-plumbing or removal of tons of dry wall (we don't have enough skill yet), but rather some small changes with painting, color and lighting that I think will add up to give our master bathroom a little more pizzazz. 

Stay tuned,

{Rashida}