Effective lighting design in Surrey
When it comes to the design of your home, you have a lot of tools at your disposal to make it look its best. One of the main tools, and one that is often overlooked, is lighting. Effective lighting can transform a house into a home, or make a room feel warm and welcoming when it once seemed sad and scruffy. Bad lighting loses much of the effort put into other aspects of home design, such as flooring and furnishings. Get the lighting right, and you’ll get the most from your home.
Balance natural and artificial light
Unfortunately, in the UK we live in a climate where natural light is often perceived as being dull and lifeless. It still needs to be harvested as effectively as possible to enable a home to be as energy efficient as is feasible.
Artificial light is extremely versatile, and can both replace and replicate natural light. You need to choose an artificial lighting system that blends in with the natural light your home receives. That way your home will be beautifully lit at all times of the day, and without a huge spend on artificial lighting.
Get it right first time
Lighting systems can be expensive to install, so it is essential that you consider all aspects of your home’s design before you invest. It’s also important to consider your budget.
Energy-efficient lighting such as LED is expensive when compared to standard fluorescent lighting, so it’s best to use the more expensive options only where absolutely needed. LED is cheaper to run, so you might decide to replace halogen bulbs with LEDs in areas where the lights are on frequently.
You really need to make sure you get it right first time, as even the best rooms in a home become seldom used if the lighting is poor.
Lighting sets the tone
Your lighting design scheme can really set the atmosphere of a room, and how the room is going to be used is important. Utility rooms are purely practical, so fluorescent lighting is ideal to give you a good view of the work to be done.
Areas where you study or read need a task lighting system to reduce eye strain – table lights and floor lamps are best.
Open plan areas need a mix of different lighting options, as each area will have a distinct, overall use.
The right type of lighting in the right position
The most important rule of lighting design is to have the right kind of lighting in the right position. The worse thing you can do is to have a uniform lighting scheme right throughout your home. You do not want the same kind of lighting in a place where you go to relax as you do in your kitchen.
Think about the mood you want to set in each specific area of your home, and the activities you’ll be carrying out in each place.
Don’t forget reflection and shade
The areas of your home that create shadow or contain reflective surfaces are just as important as the light when it comes to lighting design. Shadow allows you to create variation, atmosphere and texture. Reflection can also be used to your advantage to enhance certain areas.
Refresh your lighting
Lighting has a profound effect on your home, and not just because of its functional qualities. Lighting will affect the way the other aspects of your home design are perceived. Because of this, it’s extremely important that you get the lighting design of your home as perfect as you can. For expert advice, ask MD Bespoke for a personal consultation.
