Allowing Others to Shine: Using Lighting to Frame Ornaments and Furniture
The correct lighting can make or break a room. Not only is lighting a feature by itself, but it also allows other objects in the room, furnishings, vases, paintings, even televisions to be imbued with meaning and presence beyond their function. The correct lighting can be used to frame these objects and pick them out from their surroundings. Modern LED lighting and controls also allow for this meaning and presence to shift depending on the time of day and the current function of the room, bringing pieces in and out of play depending on the current mood of the room.
Lighting Your Main Living Space
The main living area is likely a place that has a number of different functions in the house. It could be a family room, a cinema, a study and a party venue all in one day. By making smart use of lighting around such a room it can be all these things and more just through the touch of a button. Family time usually means play, chat and laughter. You therefore want strong, natural lighting to allow your children to play safely and for you and your family to enjoy your time together. This can be achieved either through a large main ceiling chandelier, filling the whole space with light, or from individual spots spread around the room either in the ceiling, walls or even floor. Strip lights are also a great option, especially when placed in recesses or behind furnishings. A LED strip behind a sofa can accent and compliment the luxurious material and colour of the couch itself. Such LED strips can change colour depending on the function of the room. A soft, natural light during the day can be changed to a deeper red or more mellow blue in the evening.
The television is another area that can be enhanced with different lighting. Many newer large-screen TVs now come with LED trim lighting, which can be altered depending on time of day and the mood of the show or film you are watching. Combined with spots that can be dimmed around the room, you can create a truly cinematic feel to your living room, allowing the light to wash over you from the screen without dazzling and annoying light elsewhere in the room. Other pieces of furniture that can be accented with strip lights or spots are bookcases and shelves. Lights either placed in or around such shelving can make the objects on them either stand out when you want to show them off, or become almost hidden when you want them to be ignored.
If you have any art or ornaments these are some the best pieces to use lighting effects on to make them striking to any visitor. Uplights on a statue can create striking shadows both in the piece and on the surrounding walls. Alternatively, a soft downlight on a painting can make it jump off the wall to a viewer without overwhelming the art.
Other Areas of the House
Using lighting to compliment your furniture should not stop in the living room. The dining room can often be a spot forgotten by interior decorators and certainly an area neglected in terms of lighting options. But it is one of the most exciting spaces to work with and can give you the chance to explore more lavish lighting and make true spectacles of any evening soiree. Low dropping downlighters suspended over the gathering can be used to produce a cozy feel for a few guests around a large oak or mahogany table. Combined with a dark wall colouring such lights create a warm, intimate ambience for diners and a sense of closeness around the table. Alternatively a larger chandelier higher above a glass table can fill the room with a soft light ideal for larger dinner parties.
Other rooms can also be accented with light to bring the most out of them. A bed can be framed with soft red strips for a romantic evening and then a gentle white to wake you in the morning. The kitchen, an area where light is critical, can use many spot lights to illuminate while cooking but only one or two when you come down in the night for a midnight snack. Whatever the room, lighting should be used to compliment and offset the items in it for a truly unique living experience.
