Ambient Lighting & Artwork Lighting

Light is one of the most important, yet understated elements in our daily lives.  Light helps form events, and memories…the sunny day at the beach, the marriage proposal by candlelight, the stories told by the campfire. Scientific studies have shown that the appropriate and proper lighting affect our daily moods.  Can you imagine living in a world with no light?  Or even in a world with inappropriate lighting?  How would this affect your life? Ambient lighting is a great way to decorate and create a mood for rooms.  

There are four basic types of lighting that can, and should be used to achieve the best lighting design. They are: ambient lighting, task lighting, accent lighting, and decorative lighting.

• Ambient lighting fills the undefined areas of a room with a soft level of general light, enough for someone to navigate through the room.
• Task lighting is a bright light that illuminates a particular area where a visual activity, such as food preparation, or reading takes place.
• Accent lighting is similar to task lighting in that it consists largely of directed light. Accent lighting is used to focus attention on artwork, or architectural features, to help set a mood or provide drama in decorating your space.
• Any of the three previous categories of light can come in the form of decorative lighting. Decorative lighting draws attention to itself, and can sometime be the centerpiece or focal point of a room. A dining room chandelier is a perfect example of this.  It is very important that you select the proper type of decorative lighting to create the environment you desire.