Lighting Design Rules

  Well, maybe not rules, but guidelines to help you to light your space.

 Think about the daylight that your home gets.  How does it change throughout the day and the seasons?  Do you need specific lighting to make the room more usable in different seasons or time of day, what strength do these lights need to be?

·       Generally, south and east facing windows require you to maximise the quality and quantity of daylight,

·         by not having heavy window treatments and making sure the light can get as far into the room as possible.

·         you could also use mirrors to help reflect light around the room.

·       North or west facing windows benefit from devices to control light.

·         use blinds or screens in front of the window to diffuse the light.

·         matt walls and fabrics will help to ‘absorb’ the light.

·         Artificial lighting tends to either have a red and yellow or blue and green emphasis. Choose the spectrum that suits the room and how you want to use it. (Warm, Daylight or Cool light)

·         Not getting enough daylight in the Winter makes us vulnerable to lethargy.  Maximize natural daylight by letting more light through the windows. Don’t block windows with large window treatments.

·         If windows are affected by uncomfortable glare, find ways of controlling the natural levels of sunlight. You could use a film on the window or sheer window treatments.

·         In small rooms, aim to light all four corners to make the space seem bigger and use lights with vertical beams to increase the perception of height. Using lamps are a quick and easy way to change your lighting design. Try them in different places in your space and see how you feel, you’ll eventually settle on the right position for you

 

·         Think of lighting in terms of three categories:

·         General – for background illumination

·         Accent – to draw attention to particular features

·         Task lighting – to illuminate particular activities

·         A lighting scheme should be planned around the architectural features in the space and how the space is to be used. Create a balance between the three lighting categories, general, accent and task lighting.   

The best lighting schemes will offer plenty of flexibility to allow for multi-purpose functions and to create visual texture, so aim to use these three types of lighting.