Contemporary Home Lighting

With a little care and thought about how you set up and use your lights, you can design a lighting scheme which will give you a lot of control to suit how you use the room and the sort of atmosphere you want to create.

There are four key types of lighting you should consider:

• Ambient lighting. This is the general light you need to permeate through the room. In the daytime this is provided by good clear windows and in the evening you may provide this with a mix of pendant lamps and wall lights.
• Decorative lighting. This is used to enhance the atmosphere of a room and may consist of very soft sources such as candles or even a fire.
• Task lighting. This allows you to have control over the direction of the light so you can illuminate key areas used for working and other tasks.
• Display lighting. Also known as accent lighting, this is used to illuminate pictures and displays of objects you want to highlight.

In general you should always shade bare bulbs to avoid glare and vary the heights of the light sources in a room. Mix wall lamps with pendants and free standing coffee table lamps. Think of reading areas and avoid task lamps which cast too strong a shadow over the person working. Dimmer switches are a great idea and in a modern home there is really no excuse not to fit them as they give excellent control over the intensity of all light sources.You may need to think about how different lighting schemes will suit different rooms. Kitchens often benefit from downlighters in the ceiling, especially in a modern and contemporary home. Pair these with some lights mounted under wall mounted units and you have good ambient light control. If the room is to be used for dining as well then it would also be an idea to provide a pendant lamp of some sort to give a more intimate area for mealtimes. If the dining room is your main dining area then a soft central pendant lamp works well, perhaps even a chandelier style light to bring romance and intimacy to the room.

Bedrooms also benefit from downlighters but you need a more relaxed and softer style for the other lighting. Bedside lamps add a soft ambient light and are good for reading, although if you are a keen reader it may be advisable to fit a more adjustable reading lamp on the wall behind the head of the bed.

Living rooms need the largest variety of lighting types as this room will probably see the biggest range of activities. It needs to be warm and welcoming, so ambient and mood lighting are very important. You will need to plan for lighting for entertaining, reading and watching TV, so it is a good idea to have several coffee table lamps and free-standing lamps. A roaring fire makes a beautifully soft and inviting decorative light.

By thinking of the different requirements for each room you can plan the lighting types you will need more effectively. With a little thought you can change the style and mood of your living spaces with the simple flick of a few switches.

Robert J. Conley is a freelance writer and photographer with a particular interest in interior design. For more interior design and furniture ideas for placing table lamps, such as solid oak coffee tables, visit Pine Furniture Online.