Light and Space

Beautiful space with lots of natural light - but what about nights?

It always amazes me how lighting influences a space.

Good lighting enhances architectural features and gives the room a harmonious spacial feel. It's the special something that is hard to put a finger on and describe. And when it's done right you don't notice it. You don't necessarily see the light fixtures, but just "get" the ambiance of the room.

A striking architectural feature like this stone fireplace begs for spectacular, bold lighting

You can make a room appear a lot larger by having light reflected off the walls, especially if the walls are white or light colored. On the other hand you can give a huge cavernous room definition by creating "pools of light" throughout the space.  The end result is dynamic, intriguing interior.

A small room benefits from light colors and adequate lighting to create a feel of spaciousness.

In a room with a low ceiling you can give the ceiling a lighter color than the walls and use uplights, either as floor torchieres or wall sconces that cast the light upward. All these tricks will make the room appear higher.

Thinking outside the box with your lighting can produce amazing results

HHere uplights are incorporated cleverly into a ceiling structure, accentuating the high ceilings of this beautiful room.

Hanging one fixture too high in the center of the room makes it feel "lost".

Monorail

Lots of small rooms only have one light centered in the ceiling. Don't ever think that one skimpy ceiling light will do. Even if the amount of watt might be sufficient the effect of light only coming from the top center of the room will make the room appear smaller and lacking in atmosphere. Probably not the effect you are after. Instead use the center ceiling box to power a track or rail system that allows you to distribute the lights and position the them away from the center.