Ambient lighting is vital to making your house feel like a home. It provides light for entire rooms while drawing the eye to features you want to show off, like artwork on the wall.
If you’re wondering how to incorporate ambient lighting into your decor, read our guide on using it to create an even lightscape.
Understanding Ambient Lighting
Ambient light comes from multiple directions to provide overall illumination, unlike task or accent lighting, which is concentrated in a specific spot or direction. In a bedroom, two lamps could create a warm glow that blankets the entire area, reducing harsh contrasts.
You can choose from several options, including recessed lighting installed in ceilings. It offers an evenly distributed light throughout a room and can be dimmable. Pedant lights, often used in dining areas and kitchens, hang from the ceiling, typically from a cord or chain. Floor lamps provide balance, taking a chair out of a shadowy corner and placing it in an inviting spot.
Like pendant lights, chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling. They differ by featuring multiple light sources intricately arranged on arms or branches. They’re often a statement piece used in dining rooms and foyers for an elegant feel. LED strips can be low-wattage or dimmable and installed almost anywhere, including behind furniture or along ceilings.
Choosing the Right Fixtures for Different Rooms
You should choose different types of ambient lighting to match the areas of your home. In the living room, set directional downlights in the ceilings around the perimeter to shine light onto walls and minimise glare. To avoid damaging art hanging on the walls, opt for LED lighting to prevent the infrared and heat that damages oil and delicate colour pigments.
In your kitchen, position recessed downlights in areas you want well-lit, like the worktop or island. Light an overhang above a table with bar stools and add decorative wall lights to create an inviting atmosphere.
You should also have control over the different light levels in the area, rather than a blanket wash that leaves the kitchen feeling like a dentist’s.
Integrating Lighting into Your Home’s Decor
Ambient lighting needs thoughtful placement to blend with your existing decor elements and create a balanced aesthetic. Hidden details like an LED strip underneath the kitchen island or at the back of a table banquet alter the feelings of the space. This makes rooms feel much brighter by reflecting into dimmer spaces.
Generally, overhead ambient fixtures like recessed lighting and pendant lights should establish a warm, even base. Add kitchen task lighting for functionality, such as desk lamps or under-cabinet lights. You can then deploy accent lighting to highlight architectural features.
Use lighting with similar warm tones to maintain a consistent ambience, and ensure some of the lighting is dimmable to adjust for different activities like reading and watching TV.
The Chic Storage of Illuminated Cabinets
LED cabinets are a great way to add elegance to a room. In the kitchen, they provide task lighting for cooking and meal prep, reducing shadows without relying on recessed lighting. Glass-front cabinets with LEDs in living spaces can showcase a book collection.
However, they’re most useful in bathrooms. Backlit mirrors and illuminated vanity cabinets improve visibility for shaving and applying makeup by eliminating uneven light. Soft LED lighting inside cabinets will make it easier to find skincare products while creating a spa-like ambience.