Journal Entry No. 6
Lighting Tells a Story
A well-placed lamp improves a room’s appearance and function in many ways
Lighting – it is such a contentious topic and one worth delving into right at the start of any project if there’s any hope in getting it right. Poorly lit rooms (and I don’t mean just dim rooms, I mean rooms with too much light, the wrong type of light, improperly lit areas, etc.) will greatly reduce your enjoyment of the space as well as the investment made in your home.
There isn’t a ‘wonder kid’ when it comes to lighting. No one fixture type will do it all (I’m speaking directly to you, pot lights, you just don’t cut it!). Like everything else in the home, lighting should be treated in layers: there’s natural, task, mood, and whimsical lighting.
Natural lighting: what light is streaming in on a sunny day? Or on an overcast day? Is the space brighter in the morning or afternoon? How does this work or not work with what you need to do in this room? Understanding the natural light in your space will guide the design and, optimally, save on electricity if you can harness the natural light for what you need to do. There’s a unique beauty to seasonal light streaming in to the home, harness this for all it’s worth.
Task lighting: what is the task that you are performing in this room and where do you need the light? If you’re cooking, you’ll need even distribution on work surfaces, if you’re reading you’ll need soft over-the-shoulder light. Are you putting your coat and hat on, then you may want light inside the closet to find that coat and hat. Start with where you need the light and make appropriate selections from there - you’ll quickly find out that one type of light won’t do it all.
Mood lighting: though you need the bathroom to be well-lit, you may want certain moments of the day, like relaxing in the tub, to have a different feeling to it and that bright dose of lighting that you need in the morning doesn’t work anymore. This is why I put dimmers on all fixtures so that those sconces at the vanity can be both bright, when you need them to be, and offer a warm relaxing glow for an evening soak.
Whimsical lighting: this is just for fun, it doesn’t produce any light that you can read or work by but it is for those moments of your life that need that extra twinkle: Christmas tree, candles for a romantic dinner, a marquee sign from your favourite bar… it’s that little bit of theatre that we are all drawn to, that adds a sparkle to the day and leaves us with warm memories (no one ever said: what I romantic dinner we had under those pot lights!).
Circling back to the topic of pot lights as I think many people opt for them as they feel they are ‘easy’ and perhaps even neutral and a safe choice because they are almost a non-choice. Let me be clear: you are making a choice with pot lights. Any light fixture, like everything else in your home, is an opportunity to tell a little something about yourself – what are pot lights saying? Pot lights are for medical labs and storage facilities – not your home. I made the concession to pot lights in my own home, in the kitchen, and I can honestly say that I have never turned them on. Others in my family have, on rare occasion, used them but I wholly regret puncturing the ceiling with theses rude lights and cringe whenever I accidentally flip their switch.
I urge you to be creative in your lighting strategy and, most importantly, have a strategy. It’s overwhelming to design a home and lighting is just one of the umpteenth decisions that needs to be made. Approaching the subject calmly and from the start of a project will allow you time to assess options and ensure you are making decisions that will support functionality as well as personality – you may even have fun with the selections – and this will speak volumes about who you are.