Home and outdoor lighting

Lighting - your guide to home and outdoor lighting

We've come a long way from prehistoric man who used primitive lamps to illuminate his cave made from naturally occurring materials such as rocks, shells, horns, and stones that were filled with grease and had a fiber wick. Nowadays electrical lighting is the most commonly used form of artificial lighting.

Lighting is essential to the look and function of any room, and nowadays there are more options in lighting your home than ever before. Lighting is part of the next layer in a room after the furniture is in place!

There are four basic types of modern lighting that work together to illuminate your home: general, task, accent, and decorative. Although each option can be used alone, combining all four makes a room more comfortable and functional.

1. General lighting also known as ambient lighting provides an area with overall, non-specific illumination. It's a basic form of lighting that replaces natural sunlight and is fundamental to lighting a home. General lighting radiates a comfortable level of brightness, enabling one to see and walk about safely. How much ambient lighting a room needs depends on the time of day, the amount natural light available, and how the room is being used. It can be accomplished with ceiling or wall-mounted fixtures, table and floor lamps, chandeliers, recessed or track lighting, and outdoor fixtures. In addition, general lighting can also be a combination of accent, task, and decorative lighting.

2. Accent lighting also known as focal lighting adds drama to a room by creating decorative interest and is generally considered one of the "layers of light" when lighting a space. Used as directional light aimed at an object or feature in a small area of space it is a way to make something stand out in the space and create a visual separation. Accent light complements ambient light by adding interest. Flood lights, spot lights, track lights, and sconces are used for accent lighting. Accent lighting can enhance any room in the house by shining a light on artwork or highlighting home architecture such as a fireplace mantel or cornice. They eye is drawn to the location in the room you want to highlight.

3. Task lighting directs light just where you need it. Another component of the "layers" of light in a room, task lighting is directional light aimed at helping you to perform a specific task such as reading, cooking, doing laundry, working at the computer, or doing paperwork by providing more light on a specific area. Task lighting fixtures accomplish this without wasting energy trying to illuminate the entire space to the higher desired light level. Desk lamps, ceiling pendant fixtures, and appliance lights are all good examples of task lighting fixtures. When aiming task lighting, make sure the light source or bulb is shielded from the viewing angle with a shade so as to reduce or eliminate the glare. Also, soft white bulbs are better than the clear or colored variety. If you experience glare, the wattage is too high. Three-way bulbs or a light controlled by a dimmer switch can adjust the light to a comfortable level.

4. Decorative lighting is light where the subject is the light fitting itself and can dramatically change the look of any room and become the focal point in the room. Chandeliers, light strips, pendants, sconces, candelabra based lamps, colored spotlights, lava lamps, or a beautiful Tiffany-style shade are all examples of light fixtures that draw attention to themselves and add character and interest to the room being lighted. Bulbs can be flame-shaped and even flame-shaped that flicker and mimic a candle flame. Decorative bulbs are also colored in red, blue, green, yellow (or amber). When you replace your regular incandescent bulbs with these you'll provide a festive flair that will set a party mood, or create a romantic mood with bulbs that are softly colored a rosy-pink. Remember, as in anything you do in decorating, make sure that the decorative bulbs you choose suit the mood and harmony of the room you're decorating. Decorative lighting can also be used outdoors.