Lighting a Dark Space
March 2nd, 2010 | Published in bathroom, bedroom, decor, DIY, interior design, lighting | 16 Comments
by Guest
If you have a dark room that you are trying to light, you probably already know that it isn’t an easy task to accomplish. It’s important to understand how different light fixtures illuminate a space differently. This way you are sure to get the right lighting combination for your needs.
Some things to consider when choosing your lighting…
Paint and furniture color: If your room has very little natural light, you may want to choose a lighter color for the walls since they will reflect the light from the light fixtures better. To bring warmth into the room, and to help offset the brightness of the wall color, consider using furniture or carpeting with warmer tones.
Ambient Lighting: To be sure you have adequate overall lighting in the room; it’s good to install overhead lighting—for example, flush mount fixtures, track lighting, recessed lighting, etc. These lights can be hooked up to a dimmer switch so that they can be used brightly for tasks and entertaining, as well as dimmed for a more relaxed setting.
Accent Lighting: For when overhead lights aren’t enough, or maybe aren’t needed, we turn to Accent Lighting. Whether you are ready to settle in for the night, or want to highlight a certain part of your room, I suggest strategically placing Accent Lighting in your space. Many types of lighting fixtures can be used for Accent Lighting, depending on your needs. To highlight a picture, or maybe a shelving unit—wall lighting or picture lighting might be what you are looking for. For something more task-oriented like extra light for reading—you may consider table/floor Lamps or wall lighting.
Task Lighting: Sometimes the overhead lights and accent lighting aren’t enough. Instead, you need some lights that directly illuminate a workspace. This is especially useful in a kitchen, over a counter space, or in an office at the desk and computer. Under-Cabinet Lighting could be what you need. These lights are usually small, and can be unseen, and are very useful in illuminating a space directly. You could also use a desk lamp or pendant lighting for this purpose. It depends on the room you are working in and which fixture would make the most sense for the activity.
As you can see, lighting a room is not as easy as buying a lamp and plugging it in—especially if your space is dark. To lighten the room, you can start by picking well-illuminating paint and furniture, but it doesn’t stop there. You need to use different lighting for different activities. If paired together properly, you will have taken a dark space and will have made it a very functional, well-lit space instead.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 5:24 am (#)
It seems very informative and helpful.Thanks for sharing your views.Really enjoyed reading the article.Hope so will get these kind of interesting articles in future.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:40 pm (#)
The beauty of your house depends on the light that reflects to the whole area of the place.Changing it’s color is depending on the mood that you wanted to achieve.Thanks for the tips that you shared.
March 5th, 2010 at 4:49 am (#)
This is the idea i was searching for very important info, thanks for sharing.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:01 pm (#)
Good piece, but do you have any tips for a large dark room, or do the tips cover large and small rooms?
March 13th, 2010 at 1:41 am (#)
I like how you mentioned the use of furniture color to brighten a room. I think this is an often overlooked, but very important factor when lighting up a room. The little accent decor also makes a lot of difference, like adding some bright mustard throw pillows on a neutral or dark couch, or placing a vase of vibrant-colored flowers on top of an otherwise bleak-looking end table.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:48 am (#)
A big part of making an area light is the colour of the walls, mirrors help a lot to as it gives the impression there is more room or a window into another room. The items in a room can make a world of difference. thanks for sharing
April 17th, 2010 at 9:22 am (#)
I believe that plants are also a part of making your house well lighted. House plants make beautiful addition to any indoor space. They even add color and texture to the room. Attractive indoor house plants create impact and give life to any room.
September 19th, 2010 at 9:42 am (#)
Lighting Effect is the most prominent part of any big room to furnish it b’fully. Its very essential part to choose a good quality electrical contractor and home renovation contractor to choose together.
December 11th, 2010 at 9:55 am (#)
The choice of paint color will definately make a difference to the light in a room. Soft colors such as white, beige and pastel shades work well. Also agree with the poster above who mentioned using mirrors to reflect light.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:27 am (#)
Thanks for this great info. We are MDH Light which sell lighting fixture online. Great blog.
February 15th, 2011 at 5:17 pm (#)
Solatube Tubular Skylights are a WONDERFUL way to bring daylight into a room but do require a path up to a roof (up to 20′ or 30′ distance is OK). The cost? Typically about $500 to $700 installed in just a couple of hours. The product is found all over the world and looks like a flush recessed light, but the result is a flood of daylight. The 10″ size is perfect for hallways, baths, laundry, closets. The 14″ even on a gray day in WA (typical here) can fill a 12 X 12 area with daylight – great for an office, kitchen or rec room. Homeowners love this product. It’s helpful to have an consultant from a Solatube Dealership look at your house (colors, windows, trees, orientation — how you want to use the daylight in that space) for best results.
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:45 pm (#)
Great sense of colour and imagination.
Down lights look great, a way to make them brighter and natural is to change the globe on the downlights to LED lights, they are a great way to brighten your room, make the room feel natural for great comfort. They also provide style to your room.
They are great to work under as they are good for your health and do not give you headaches or migrains there for they are a nesesity.
October 13th, 2011 at 2:27 pm (#)
great post! good job
November 29th, 2011 at 3:47 am (#)
It looks more beautiful but sometimes I prefer to have a dark room.
June 3rd, 2012 at 11:09 am (#)
I have recently started a site, the information you provide on this website has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
July 31st, 2012 at 10:02 am (#)
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