Having completed many beautiful projects now, we can´t stress enough the value of a carefully thought out lighting scheme. This enables you to compliment and showcase all the surfaces, textures and finishes you have painstakingly chosen along the way. Therefore, at Promas we are here to guide you in those decisions. You may wish to purchase a stunning, high end fixture that adds a fabulous wow factor to your living room. On the other hand, you may choose to save money with cleverly positioned hidden lighting that need not cost the earth.
But where do you start with lighting?
As we have a unified team of architects, builders, electricians and designers the hard part of effective communication between the professions is already done for you. Firstly, it is best to think about lighting as providing one of three types of light:
- Ambient light – is the overall illumination of an area. It should create visual comfort.
- Task lighting – enables you to perform tasks with ease, e.g. prepare food, read, apply make-up at the bathroom mirror
- Accent lighting – draws attention to visual statements and allows you to get creative, e.g. highlighting a painting
Putting it together
A good place to start is with task lighting. Walk through each room physically or on plan, and consider how you and your family will use each space. How much light you will need to do those tasks? Mark an x over the areas you need task lighting. Then consider ambient lighting. In the gallery below, take a look at the galleried ceilings that have been constructed around the outside of a room. They not only hide air-conditioning ducts, pipes and electrical cables but also provide a hidden recess in which strip lighting can be installed. This soft ambient light can be made dimmable and, if you wish, can change colour to alter the mood of the room. It also means that the you can retain the original ceiling height for the majority of the area. Finally, you can choose those elements of your home that you wish to accent, e.g. a special piece of art, a recess displaying fresh flowers or an exposed stone wall.
Tip
Remember choose fittings that complement the rest of the room. It is not always the light fitting that should be the stand out element of the space.
Take a look here at how to plan lighting for your outdoor space as well.
