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How to Create Layered Lighting Ambience at Home
Do you use your ceiling light to light every room in your house? If so, then you might want to take a seat. It turns out this is the wrong way to light a home. Yes - there are right and wrong ways to handle interior lighting, and relying on a big ceiling light is definitely not the best idea.
Why? Because it doesn’t create very good mood lighting. Every room can look the same and it can make things extremely bright. You should be able to create feelings and emotions in every room, which makes them more comfortable or practical. It all revolves around the idea of layered lighting - you’ll learn what this means and how to use it in the post below!
What is Layered Lighting?
Layered lighting is when you merge different types of lighting and bounce them off one another. Rather than having one singular source of light in a room, you’ve got a few areas that illuminate different parts and create a more desirable ambience.
How to Layer Lighting at Home
Layering your lighting is a wonderful way of improving the atmosphere and getting that new home feeling back. While it might sound a bit complicated, it’s genuinely extremely easy.
All you need to do is focus on three main lighting categories:
Ambient Lighting
Accent Lighting
Task Lighting
We’ll go through each of these to explain what they are, how they work and the different ways you can use them in your home.
Ambient Lighting
When we talk about ambient lighting, we’re talking about the main lighting in a room. This will mainly include your ceiling lights, which can come in all sorts of varieties. You have the normal lights fixed to the ceiling; you have large light bars, hanging pendant lights, etc.
Every room needs a main light source. It will be handy during extremely dark periods or when you need to light the entire room. One big tip when choosing ambient lighting is to ensure it matches the room’s theme. E.g. A large bright strip bar light only makes sense in a garage or kitchen - it’s a terrible idea in a living room! Another piece of advice is to pick dimmable bulbs so you can adjust the light levels. This lets you set the ceiling light to the ideal brightness, depending on why it’s turned on.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting refers to small aspects of light dotted around a room. They’re the most integral parts of layered lighting, as they add illumination in different areas and can create the ideal warmth for a cosy ambience. Lamps and wall sconces are two of the most favourite accent lighting ideas - though LED strip lighting is arguably the best.
You’ll find strip lights from an electrical wholesale store and they serve a key purpose. You stick them onto the back of things - or under things - and they produce a lovely glow that reflects against other structures. For example, a strip light on the back of a headboard in the bedroom or some strip lighting placed behind your TV in the living room.
Your main goal is to use accent lighting as much as possible so you won’t need to turn on your ceiling lights. In the evenings, reserve your accent lights to create pockets of light in different parts of the room. This creates enough light to be comfortable without being too overpowering or bright.
Task Lighting
Complete the layers with task lighting. Some people get this confused with accent lighting, but task lighting has a purpose: it exists to illuminate a very specific task or activity. Under-cabinet lighting in kitchens is the best example of this; it lights your worktops to help you see what you’re doing.
Reading lights also come under this heading - they shine a spotlight on an area to help you read. Some rooms might not need task lighting, while others will rely on it heavily. It’s all about knowing what needs light and where to place it!
Craft the Perfect Ambience with Layered Lighting
In summary, layered lighting is the key to cultivating the best ambience and atmosphere in your home. Stop relying on one light from the ceiling to illuminate your spaces. It makes them look and feel horrible! Use the ceiling light on rare occasions and switch to accent and task lighting for a better warmth and glow. It’s easy to do, and layered lighting will be a simple upgrade that doesn’t cost much and makes your home feel a whole lot better.
Go well,
Abi
xxx
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