One of the most fun and rewarding tasks of planning a new structure or renovation is establishing a lighting design plan. The lighting also carries its share of responsibilities, as the choices you make will help to determine the personality and style structure of your space. It’s crucial to provide appropriate light for various needs in and around each bedroom, office, kitchen, or living room.
In many ways, style lighting and functional lighting can and should work together to supply the light that you need in an environment, but there are also times when one may be more fitting than the other.
What is Functional Lighting?
Functional lighting provides the mandatory illumination we need for the daily activities in our lives. We need a light at the door so we can find the keyhole at night, and a lighted path to the doorway is handy (and safe) as well. When planning the lighting design for a new structure, make sure you account for all of the uses of light – even in small or unused spaces – the lighting we often take for granted.
Once you’ve determined each spot that needs lighting in order to be able to gracefully function in and around your space and have factored in the quality of light that is desired, (whether a soft ambient glow or a direct beam of light), the fun task of style choice can begin.
What is Style Lighting
Style lighting involves establishing a desired aesthetic or personality in your environment through the design of your fixtures. Whether they are sconces, pendants, chandeliers, flush-mounts, track, or portable accessory lights, these lights may perform the function of utilitarian lighting tasks, accentuate wall textures or pieces of art, or cast a touch of textured light to dim corners.
However, the primary concern with style lighting is to infuse an environment with a particular personality or ambiance, so fixture design and the lighting’s effects on its immediate environment are crucial factors. Really knowing your space and/or working with an expert lighting designers can help you select a particular lighting piece to set the designing tone for an entire space.
Functional and Style Lighting Decisions
While attractive décor items, tables, and floor lamps are designed to light up dark corners and deliver a necessary spot of light to a particular destination, decisions about the placement of your stationary functional and style light sources are easiest made while the wires are being laid, before the walls are sealed. Be assured however, that a highly skilled electrician can usually find a way to work around an existing wiring setup if necessary.
Fortunately, kitchens, bathrooms, and dining rooms are somewhat less challenging. The obvious task involves supplying adequate light for pre-determined workstations that are found in the basic blueprint of the structure. But even with these rooms, a comprehensive vision will allow you to sprinkle the environment with ambient light in strategic places with a variety of sconces, pendants, and chandeliers to enhance the style of character that you’re establishing and give your space that special appeal.
Style lighting choices are usually influenced by the architectural theme of the structure, at least on its exterior. However, each room of your interior presents a new opportunity for creative expression and the style of your lighting fixtures are an integral part of setting the tone for each environment.
Harmonious Functional and Style Lighting
The lighting fixture above your new kitchen island can range from a sleek modern design to colonial, arts and craft, Mediterranean, Asian, or even bodacious glamour. Will your entrance or hallway be lit by sconce, pendant, flush-mount, or chandelier? With worlds of style and an abundance of gorgeous designs at your fingertips, you’ll find that your choices in lighting design have the power to make any statement that you’d like. With the right lighting, you can transform your space into the place you’ve been dreaming of.
