Why Your Home Needs 3 Layers of Lighting
Ambient, task, and accent lighting to illuminate your life.
A well-lit space does something for the soul. Crisp overhead lighting, pinpointed task lighting, and soft accent lighting help you live, work, and relax with ease. Plus, the balance of natural and artificial light in a space is a significant part of every design we create.
If you're curious about why your space absolutely needs three layers of lighting to be considered "well-designed," today is your day. Keep reading.
Ambient
Ambient lighting is that always-needed but rarely-admired lighting. Recessed lights and track lights — they are utilitarian. When they aren't in use, you don't notice them. When you do need them and they are absent, you likely feel just as we do: Immediately frustrated with flashbacks to the Stone Age. (Should we light a candle? Why is it so dark in here?) Less utilitarian ambient lighting sources include chandeliers and similar ceiling fixtures.
2. Task
Task lighting is also utilitarian and can, too, make a statement versus simply fading into the background. Pendants, vanity lights, desk lamps, and floor lamps fall into this category. Task lighting is meant to illumine specific micro-spaces (e.g. a desk or dining table) rather than an entire room.
3. Accent
Always the star of the show, accent lighting highlights certain features of a space. On the exterior of a home, it creates a soft glow around the soffits, giving your home that airy, fairytale vibe or lining a walkway / driveway with elegance. On the interior of your home, it provides subtle statements through under-cabinet, interior-cabinet, or toe-kick lighting, artwork spotlights, interior soffits, alcove illumination, wall sconces, and more.
DESIGN TIP
Multiply the light.
We often place mirrors across from or perpendicular to windows. This practice actually multiplies the light while also increasing the perceived size of the space. For rooms with lower ceilings, we apply floor-to-ceiling drapery panels and, as needed, full-length mirrors.
DESIGN TREND
Lighting, au naturale.
Because humans were meant to be within nature and not removed from it, lighting trends continue to gravitate toward natural materials, textures, and shapes — with an emphasis on maximizing sunlight through the use of sheer window treatments and mirrors.
