How to Light Any Room Really, Really Well, According to Designers
Lighting is everything. Too much, and the room feels overbearing. Not enough, and you can’t see all the decorative choices you’ve already made. Light is what enhances a room, what washes over it, and bathes it in a golden glow. It makes spaces look better. It makes us look better. But only when done well.
These are the designers who know more than just where to buy lighting — though that is important too. They know how to craft lighting schemes, to pinpoint the moments in a room worth highlighting (pun intended), and to create workspaces which manage to be cosy when needed, too.
With their tricks, you’ll be able to create a lighting scheme worth lingering in, living in, and looking at — from the first cup of coffee to the last glass of wine.
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Ambient Lighting
Charu Gandhi
Charu Gandhi is the founder and director of interior design studio Elicyon, based in London. She recently won a Highly Commended at the Livingetc Style Awards in the House of the Year category, and has spoken on many panels and judged many awards herself. She is joining our editor Pip Rich as the expert voice on a panel about lighting during the next London Design Festival.
Ambient lighting isn’t just about the overhead light, but the entire lighting scheme.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
“Ambient lighting is the lights you turn on when you’re trying to create a vibe, not what you need to work or focus by. And for ambience, a room can and often does have up to seven different light sources, as optionality is the most important thing when it comes to layering. This is how you manipulate and construct an atmosphere. Optionality is key — you should be able to light up any space like Christmas if you choose to one minute, and then dial it down to a cozy level the next.
In our WOW!house room this year, we had overhead lighting, thin lights in niches, LED strips behind the bar, backlighting, cove lighting in the ceiling, lights trained on our crystal artefacts, and lights in the bar. It was only a small space, but what’s the point of spending all that time choosing materials if you’re not going to light it correctly?
As a basic lighting rule, what you’re looking for is a light option that will help you find your glasses (so, really bright), and one to watch TV by curled up in the almost-dark, with everything else in between. You then want each light source to be on a dimmer so you can turn them up or down as need be.
The way to know where to place those lights is to think about how you will use the space, but also to understand the architecture. Look at where the windows are, and which corners are furthest from them and might need a bit more illumination. Ask yourself how you want the room to feel in the evening. And from there, you will be able to place the lights in the spots you will want them most — so you can read, watch movies, or simply relax.”
West Elm
Laughton Chandelier
Accent Lighting
Olga Ashby is the founder of Olga Ashby Interiors and her work has appeared in Livingetc many times. She has also designed rugs, lights and table linens.
Accent lighting is about pulling focus.
(Image credit: Vigo Jansons. Design: Olga Ashby)
“I am someone who likes to make sure there are always objects of interest on display in every sightline, but who never wants a room to feel cluttered. So I identify what the important angles are — what I will see the moment I walk in the door and what will be in front of me when I’m sitting on the sofa. This is where I put my visual pleasures. It’s also these areas you need to add accent lighting to, to make them really sing.
Accent lighting is usually hidden in the ceiling, or might be placed on or behind a shelf to illuminate it. It could even be a well-positioned table lamp on a fireplace. I love to hide inexpensive LED strips from Amazon in coving details, or behind mirrors or at the back of bookshelves. It costs almost nothing and yet makes a room feel instantly more luxe.
I am also a big fan of the pedestal, or of creating an installation in a corner. This could be a sculpture on a plinth, or it could be a drinks trolley. Add a mirror behind it, train some accent lighting on it, and it’s like you’re in a gallery.
Ultimately, I have always felt that the absence of a thing is as important as the thing itself, and that is why I leave so much space between each vase, treasure or objet. But the same principle applies to light — you want to leave some areas dark so the ones you’ve highlighted really stand out. This is why accent lighting is everything; it allows your favorite pieces to be seen loud and clear, to ensure people’s eyes rest on the most important moments, and to make it feel like your space has been properly curated.”
John Lewis
Didi Table Uplighter
Task Lighting
Portia Fox founded her own eponymous interior design studio and has since had her projects featured in Livingetc. She used to work at Candy and Candy and has spoken on a panel about design with our editor Pip Rich.
Every room could use task lighting focused on the actions you perform within it.
(Image credit: Richard Pickavance. Design: Portia Fox)
“Task lighting does exactly what the name suggests — it’s the lights you use when performing tasks. This could be working at a desk, prepping food in the kitchen, or perhaps even vacuuming the carpet. It’s different from ambient lighting in that it’s not about trying to create a mood but about you wanting to be able to see — really see — what you’re doing.
In a kitchen, you want good, bright task lighting, but it’s also likely to be a space you entertain, so you also need options to make it cozy. I will always ensure there are downlights over the island or food prep area, as that is also likely to be a place you sit at with a book and want to be lit well, too. Lights under wall-hung kitchen cabinets are always a good idea, illuminating the counter immediately underneath them, but not imposing on anyone trying to have a relaxed time around the dining table. I’m designing a home with a central hob that has two workspaces on either side, and it has a central hood and a linear LED integrated into the stone worktop, making three forms of lighting.
But even if there is only one form of task lighting, such as a desk lamp in your study, how you control it is key. I always have two switches for two circuits — one that controls just the task lighting and one that controls the accent lights. That way you can immediately light a room for how you want it to function in that given moment.
It’s worth remembering that task lighting doesn’t have to look utilitarian, and in fact is often more prominent, especially in the case of the lights over an island. So choose decorative-looking pieces that fit with the rest of your scheme, even if their function is anything but.”
Tom Dixon
Portable Pose Table Lamp
Lighting Temperatures
Alex Dauley is the founder of her own eponymous interior design studio, and also a co-founder of United in Design. She is on the board of Homes & Gardens’ Next in Design and spoken at countless panels as an expert voice in design.
This media room is a masterclass in getting light temperature right for the feel you want to create.
(Image credit: Alex Dauley)
“The perfect light temperature is 3000K — nothing more than that. The K scale is the measure of how warm or cool a light is (the lower the number, the cooler it is), and 3000 will give you a wonderful golden warmth. I know the industry standard tends to be 2700K, but honestly, going up that bit further makes all the difference.
And this is the temperature I choose for all my bulbs, for both ambient and task lighting. It’s a warm white, and I can’t stand cool whites; they set my teeth on edge. I don’t even understand why you’d have cool-temperature bulbs in a doctor’s surgery or dentist’s waiting room — there is no need for them in the northern hemisphere where our natural light tends to be a little cooler, too.
The trick is not to go for a filament bulb, as the light from them can tend to be a little orange, and that’s not what this is about. This is about the light just before sunset on vacation, a light that bathes you and makes you feel good. Because making you feel good is what a home should always be about, and 3000K is where to start.”
How to Choose Light Fixtures
Lucy Barlow is the co-founder of Barlow and Barlow, a design studio she now runs with her husband. They recently completed Kin House, and she has spoken on many design panels as an expert voice.
The choice of light fixture really shifts a design tonally.
(Image credit: Barlow and Barlow)
“The first and most important thing to think about when choosing light fixtures is that you never want to be able to see a bulb with any of your lights — it’s too obtrusive and glaring — so lampshades are really important. These could be fabric, smoked glass, porcelain, or any other material, as long as the bulb is well and truly hidden. This is your first step to ensuring that the light you choose is going to be flattering.
The next most important thing is asking yourself where the light fixture will go and what it will be used for. In a powder room or bathroom, it doesn’t need to be such a clear light, so you can choose something with a gauzy fabric shade or camouflaging glass casing. For a space you want to read in, you want the light to be a little more direct, so you can choose a fixture with a shade that directs the light downwards, rather than spreading it all around the room. In a dining room, meanwhile, you want to think about the table as the focal point, so a pendant hanging with an upward shade can create a pool of light around it that makes the whole area feel more intimate.
Next comes the practical part: the calculations of the size. Wall lights need to give you enough space to move around, while overhead task lights should be around 30 inches (approx. 76cm) above the surface they’re lighting, so factor the room’s height into your shopping list.
Lastly, and maybe this is the most important, what is your decorative style? I love leopard print, so I will always choose a light fixture with a leopard shade if I can, but for minimalist spaces, go for a light in a single material, or for modern, eclectic schemes, don’t be afraid to mix and match. Be brave, have fun, and find the light fitting that not only works in the room you have, but casts a flattering, fabulous glow too.”
Heal’s
White Osaka Pendant
How Many Lighting Sources Does a Room Need?
The founder of his own eponymous design studio, Christian Bense’s work has appeared in Livingetc many times, including on the cover. He has spoken at countless panels and recently celebrated ten years of his own agency.
The sweet spot between too few and visual clutter when it comes to lighting is a fine line.
(Image credit: Christian Bense)
A living room — and in fact pretty much any room — ideally has five sources of light. We’re talking overhead, wall, floor lamps, table lamps, and task lighting. The more the merrier, really. This way you can highlight portions of the room, making it wide or small depending on how you are using it, with tiny reading corners or bathing a party in a warm glow.
Not that the overhead light always has to be central — hang them in the corner, which makes them feel much more like an installation, and you’re more likely to actually turn them on.
This large number of lights is essential because in any well-designed room you should be able to have a meeting or a rave, to be serious or to dim the lights, turn the music up and get a little drunk.
Really, any good living room should be about balance. And that many lights are what will help achieve it. So, the lights need to be at different heights — some above you as you sit, some only just above eye level. Formality and informality, a space to find peace and to have fun, to be introspective or extroverted. A room for every side of who you are.”
Westwing
Floor Lamp Chakra
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