Lighting Tips
The importance of quality lighting is something that is often undervalued when designing a home. Lighting plays an important part in our daily lives. In a home it serves both functional and aesthetic purposes, but often ends up being an afterthought in the design process.
So how does one get the balance right, without breaking the budget? Petra Kleegraefe from Architectural Lighting Design offers a few important rules to follow when designing the lighting for your home.
Start early
Firstly, consider your lighting needs early in the design process. It is much easier to get cabling to the right spots early in a project, rather than when the walls are finished. Also, you might like to integrate efficient lighting elements into your architectural details and avoid obtrusive or expensive surface mounted fittings. Petra says that “one of my favourite lighting techniques is to integrate standard linear fluorescent lights into pelmets or on top of kitchen cupboards to illuminate and visually lift ceilings. This is an inexpensive solution, but the effect is fantastic”.
What do you want to light?
Next, consider what you really want lit. What do you want to stand out? What should be highlighted? You’ll find that vertical elements such as artwork on the walls, or people’s faces around a table often have the highest priority and should be lit well. Do you want to reveal the height of your space or a feature wall? Then uplight the ceiling or highlight the wall itself. Petra suggests that “four downlights in a room are a common mistake as they predominantly only illuminate the floor or the top of people’s heads. They often leave the ceiling feeling dark and the walls end up having a messy appearance because of the shadows created by the lights. A more effective technique is to use diffused light sources which provide general illumination to more evenly light the walls and lift the ceiling. You can then use some form of directional lighting for specific tasks like reading or to highlight a feature”.
Mood and flexibility
Finally, get the mood right. This involves a combination of having the right light fitting, lamp and lighting control. Light fittings should hide the lamp from direct view to minimise discomfort glare. Lamps should have a warm white (colour temperature 2700K to 3000K is best); good colour rendering properties; and be dimmable wherever possible. Petra advises that “even a simple dimmer can add flexibility and help set the mood for the different functions of the space”.
If you have any questions on whether Petra’s services are right for you, please feel free to call or email her.
Petra Kleegraefe
Director
Architectural Lighting Design
Mobile 0425 264 373
petra@lightingdesigner.com.au
www.lightingdesigner.com.au
