Finding The Right Light
The right lighting can work wonders for a house, office or even the workplace. Thus, the reason for a lighting expert, who can create the right mood, or bring in practical lighting for most situations. There is soft warm romantic lighting, and on the opposite side of the light spectrum there is harsh cold lighting. Every situation requires the right kind of light, power and direction. Energy efficiency is another aspect which needs to be considered, and the expert will have all the information on the most efficient bulbs on the market.
The most commonly used lighting is probably the fluorescent tube. No one could accuse it of being romantic but it is incredibly practical and energy saving. A T8 tube will give off enough light for a large room and will run off the minimum amount of energy. In domestic situations this is the one for the kitchen. The soft overall flat light is ideal in this location as it casts no shadows, so when cutting something there’s no danger of missing the meat and slicing your finger. Some kitchens have a main over head fluorescent and then some closer directional spotlights for extra light. The kitchen is a work place so its no surprise that almost all the offices, supermarkets, railway stations and airports are fitted out with hundreds if not thousands of fluorescent tubes. Recent innovations have been extra low energy tubes which have an outer casing to keep the temperature constant, which makes it more energy efficient.
But back in the house, the lighting expert will assess the type of decoration, the rooms and the style. It’s then the job of that expert to enhance a room with lighting. Spotlights are good when they are in the right places – it’s hard to work on a computer with a spotlight casting shadows over the keyboard, so a study may have some spots for effect and an angle poise lamp for directional light onto the computer. The lounge will need to be either lit for serving dinner or as a place to snuggle down to watch the TV. So a mix of overhead lights plus a few table lamps works a treat.
In the bedrooms there should be good overhead lighting plus bedside lamps. Who wants to get out of bed to switch the light off? The lower wattage bulbs give a warm soft effect and its no secret that hotels are usually photographed with a nice orange glow to the rooms. It’s inviting and warm as opposed to cold and uninviting. Children’s rooms need to be well lit but not overpowering. The number of novelty bedside lamps makes for all sorts of design possibilities when it comes to decorating the kid’s rooms.
The choice of lamps, fittings and modern lights is extensive and a visit to a good specialist lighting shop will prove useful. Department stores have good ranges, but with a lighting expert on the job, the house décor will look ten times better with the correct lighting.