From concrete to bare vintage filament bulbs, it’s difficult to flick through a home magazine these days without a pendant light or standard lamp catching our eye. With so many different materials, shapes and sizes available it can be easy to get lost in the style while overlooking its function.
The trending vintage bulbs may look impressive however, it’s important to understand that they are more suited as an ambient light and unlikely to be suitable as the main light source in a room. With so many different types of light fixtures and bulbs we are finding it is becoming more and more important to bring the different types of lighting to the customer attention. These different types of lighting include task lighting, ambient lighting and accent lighting.
Task lighting is arguably the most important and refers to the most purposeful light. Some examples include over the kitchen benches for food prep and over the bathroom mirrors for shaving or makeup application. In settings such as these it is important to not only consider the type of light, but also its positioning in order to avoid creating shadows, as well as the material from which the fitting is made. Glass fittings over kitchen benches will allow for maximum light, where concrete will create more of a spot depending on the height at which they are installed.
Ambient lighting refers to the overall illumination of an area, examples where this is most prevalent can include living, dinning and entertaining areas where a softer light is desired and often achieved through indirect lighting. A directional wall or downlight can be useful to bounce light off surrounding walls or ceilings to soften light and eliminate glare.
Accent lighting is often used to highlight focal points in a room such as paintings, or highlight different textures such as stone walls and foliage. Once again this is best achieved using some form of directional light source.
Style versus function applies not only to lighting but also ceiling fans. The biggest fan does not necessarily mean the most airflow and generally the more decorative fans do not produce more air even though the blades might be wider.
Trends of today have a strong emphasis towards using lighting as a sculptural aspect of the home similar to that of an art work. Gone are the days when a pendant light was limited to one or two areas in the home. Today pendant lights can be seen in almost every room in the house. Come in and speak with one of our Lighting experts to help create the balance between style and function in your home.