Along with choosing a perfect color palette for your interiors, lighting probably plays the most important part in your Interior Design strategy. Of all the components of the Interior Design, like Wall decoration, Furniture, etc.
Lighting accentuates the role of other components. When the various lighting components like side lamps, table top lamps etc. are selected and placed properly, the overall beauty of your room increases multifold. In this article, MsME Interior Design, a leading Interior Design firm in Miami shares with us some important tips on how one can effectively transform the Interior.
Always go for Variety of lighting in each room
One of the biggest mistakes many designers and individuals make is that they are too afraid of playing with light. As a matter of fact, the general rule of thumb for all interior lighting should be that you should have a mixture of lighting at multiple levels.
Not just in one single room, but throughout every room in your home. For example, imagine a kitchen with lighting units above your island, and task lighting underneath your cabinetry.
Similarly, for a living room you can go for ceiling units also you can also go with table top lamps around the perimeter. Even for washrooms, one can opt for combination of lighting. Mirror top, mirror side and ceiling lamps can be effectively used to accentuate the looks. This combination of lighting will make all the rooms more functional.
Keep bulb lighting colors the same.
This is one of the most neglected aspects of lighting. You might wonder: “Don’t all the bulbs give off white light?” Not necessarily.
It is possible that, the bulbs you choose will give off different shades of white light across a spectrum – typically from a light bluish white to a yellow white.
When selecting bulbs, one should look at the bulb’s Kelvin Color Temperature, and choose bulbs with a similar rating. This will give uniform lighting. The difference in shade becomes very apparent when the bulbs are placed in such a manner that it gives a cluster look.
Lighting placement
Most of the individuals and designers are very confident about the placement of various lighting units. However, this could easily go wron. The decision about placing a light should be based on various factors.
When you are selecting lighting for your rooms think about the basic role of the room and the main points in that room. For example, if you are planning about light placement in your living room, consider Installing more indirect lighting so that the space seems more relaxed. Also, you can allow for table top lamps next to a sofa or armchair.
This is a pretty conventional thing, but is still regarded as one of the best ways of decorating your living room with lights. Alsom, if you have high ceilings, you can combine lighting on the ceiling and walls to help give the room a more cosy and comfortable feel, By this, the visitors will not feel lost in a big open space.
For your dining space, consider installing lighting, over the top or through lamps, so that your dining room table is the brightest spot in the room. This will create the table as the focal point of your room, which it should be. A hanging light just above the centre of the table will do the work for you.
Similarly, for your hallway or entry way, you can opt for either ceiling lights or wall lights. Most of the people prefer ceiling light for hallways or passageways.
You can also combine architectural lighting or a trendy ceiling light depending on the length, shape and design of your entryway. It has to be also kept in mind that the lighting should merge with the actual room and it should not give an appearacne that there is an abrupt ending to it.
For example, your mudroom lighting design may be more industrial in nature, where lighting is more of requirement rather than a design element. But in your formal entryway or passageway, you may consider using your lighting as a focal point of the design.
Prefer exposing the Lighting Elements rather than the details in low ceiling rooms
Just as the heading implies, one should prefer a lighting unit who’s structure or architectural details is hidden. The purpose should be to only benefit from the light itself without exposing the architectural details.
This is very important if you are looking for clean, modern interiors for aesthetic reasons. The importance of this grows manifold if your home has low ceilings and hanging lighting units could potentially present a problem.
Therefore, if you want recessed lighting in your rooms, you want to make that decision during the design phase itself since it will affect your builder and electrician’s work.
For lamps, consider positioning them at a helpful height.
According to various experts, the bottom of a pendant light should be around 30 to 35 inches above a kitchen island.
Similarly, the bottom of a chandelier should be 66 inches from the floor in a dining room, and when you’re sitting next to a table lamp, the bottom of the shade should be at shoulder height. If the lamp is too tall, you’ll be blinded by the bulb. This requires meticulous planning on the part of designers and even the furniture experts. An important design aspect, this should also be thought of during the design phase itself.
Conclusion
According to MsME Interior Design firm, as experts in this field are few, many a time, Condo owners in Miami are conned by novice designers. The end result is that they hire designers to re do the entire work. One should be very careful in selecting your Interior Designer as most of the light fittings once done, can only be changed after a lot of work which might entail huge cost.