Decorating
6 Mood-Enhancing Tips for Your Lighting Scheme
With a little ingenuity and know-how you can use lighting to create room atmospheres that are as mood-changing as a new coat of paint
Wouldn’t it be great if we could change the wall colour and furnishings of a room depending on how we felt? Dark and moody blue walls with heavy drapes on a cold rainy day in front of the TV, hipster yellow walls with funky furniture for when you’re just hanging out with friends, or stark white walls with elegant high gloss furniture for when the girls come over for high tea. Well, you can’t change the colours in a room on a whim, but you can change lighting at the flick of a switch. Read on to find out ways to make lighting design work for you.
1. Dim your lights for relaxation
Dimming lights is the single most effective way to create a relaxing mood in your home at night. A dimmer can not only accurately control the overall amount of light in the room, but also vary the level of different light sources. Ambient downlights dimmed to 70 per cent of their output, with accent wall sconces at only 15 per cent, will look dramatically different to the opposite scenario; i.e. brighter wall sconces and dimmed downlights.
Pros: By experimenting with different light sources at varying light levels you will discover many ways to control the mood in a room. And, if you own or invest in a ‘smart’ lighting control system, you can take a snapshot of those levels, name them, and save them for retrieval later at the press of a button.
Cons: Beware the compatibility of the light or bulb. There are many LED lighting products that suggest they can be dimmed, but in fact have a poor dimming range and can flicker or pulse when dimmed.
Dimming lights is the single most effective way to create a relaxing mood in your home at night. A dimmer can not only accurately control the overall amount of light in the room, but also vary the level of different light sources. Ambient downlights dimmed to 70 per cent of their output, with accent wall sconces at only 15 per cent, will look dramatically different to the opposite scenario; i.e. brighter wall sconces and dimmed downlights.
Pros: By experimenting with different light sources at varying light levels you will discover many ways to control the mood in a room. And, if you own or invest in a ‘smart’ lighting control system, you can take a snapshot of those levels, name them, and save them for retrieval later at the press of a button.
Cons: Beware the compatibility of the light or bulb. There are many LED lighting products that suggest they can be dimmed, but in fact have a poor dimming range and can flicker or pulse when dimmed.
2. Add circuits for expression
The more lighting circuits you have, the more expressive you can be. By varying which of the lighting circuits are on and at what brightness level, the room can dramatically change its look, feel, and mood, while simultaneously increasing its functionality tenfold.
Pros: Imagine each different light in a room representing a different colour; could you ask Monet to paint a masterpiece with just one colour on his palette? Aim for a minimum of three different lighting circuits in important rooms, such as the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom.
Cons: Adding more circuits to a room will add to the cost and effort of installing the wiring, in the electrician’s time to do it and the light fitting prices. However, adding an extra circuit or two to a room is still a lot cheaper than buying a piece of furniture or art for the wall.
The more lighting circuits you have, the more expressive you can be. By varying which of the lighting circuits are on and at what brightness level, the room can dramatically change its look, feel, and mood, while simultaneously increasing its functionality tenfold.
Pros: Imagine each different light in a room representing a different colour; could you ask Monet to paint a masterpiece with just one colour on his palette? Aim for a minimum of three different lighting circuits in important rooms, such as the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom.
Cons: Adding more circuits to a room will add to the cost and effort of installing the wiring, in the electrician’s time to do it and the light fitting prices. However, adding an extra circuit or two to a room is still a lot cheaper than buying a piece of furniture or art for the wall.
3. Position and angle the beam for accents
Although ambient lighting is mostly designed just to light a general area, task and accent lighting can and should be highly targeted at something we want to feature. To get the most out of these lights, carefully plan the position in which the fitting is installed, the angle at which it’s pointed, and the beam angle of the bulb or fitting.
Pros: If you direct and focus the light to specific areas, a spotlight, or group of spotlights, can be angled to light up an entire feature wall, or just focused to highlight items such as wall hangings or fireplaces.
Cons: Getting the position and beam angle right for your room is not really a way to create mood on its own, but combine this with dimming and multiple circuits and you will win at mood lighting, thereby creating some serious wow factor in your home.
More good lighting design ideas
Although ambient lighting is mostly designed just to light a general area, task and accent lighting can and should be highly targeted at something we want to feature. To get the most out of these lights, carefully plan the position in which the fitting is installed, the angle at which it’s pointed, and the beam angle of the bulb or fitting.
Pros: If you direct and focus the light to specific areas, a spotlight, or group of spotlights, can be angled to light up an entire feature wall, or just focused to highlight items such as wall hangings or fireplaces.
Cons: Getting the position and beam angle right for your room is not really a way to create mood on its own, but combine this with dimming and multiple circuits and you will win at mood lighting, thereby creating some serious wow factor in your home.
More good lighting design ideas
4. Install oversized LED filament bulbs for romance
You can easily create a romantic scene with some elegant pendants with oversized LED filament bulbs. This creates a nostalgic talking point, and that’s before you even turn them on.
Pros: Such lights emit a dim and warm candle-style light that casts subtle shadows and a warm glow reminiscent of a fireplace. It’s okay if this light is ambient, as it will be dimmed right down, but it can be even better if this warm light is focused on, or near, the seating area, leaving the rest of the room in faint shadow.
Cons: People who have successfully achieved this mood using oversized LED filament bulbs complain it affects their productivity. Setting this mood, in combination with having a quick wine with your partner, and you won’t be getting back to all those spreadsheets you brought home from work…
You can easily create a romantic scene with some elegant pendants with oversized LED filament bulbs. This creates a nostalgic talking point, and that’s before you even turn them on.
Pros: Such lights emit a dim and warm candle-style light that casts subtle shadows and a warm glow reminiscent of a fireplace. It’s okay if this light is ambient, as it will be dimmed right down, but it can be even better if this warm light is focused on, or near, the seating area, leaving the rest of the room in faint shadow.
Cons: People who have successfully achieved this mood using oversized LED filament bulbs complain it affects their productivity. Setting this mood, in combination with having a quick wine with your partner, and you won’t be getting back to all those spreadsheets you brought home from work…
5. Set up muted task lighting to create intimacy
An intimate mood in your room is about having just enough task light where you are hanging out, and maybe some accented light elsewhere around the room. Imagine sitting at the dining room table playing cards with the table warmly lit, but the rest of the room in shadow, except accented highlights on your prized art or photos.
Pros: This lighting effect will create the perfect mood for intimate gatherings such as the above card game, or a relaxed dinner party, a wedding planning meeting, or a plain old booze-up.
Cons: This effect can be too muted and not create enough light to work by. The trick is to choose the fittings, such as pendants, that have a narrow beam angle, then position them to cover just the amount of area you want to light, e.g. your dining table.
Check out a collection of home bars for inspiration
An intimate mood in your room is about having just enough task light where you are hanging out, and maybe some accented light elsewhere around the room. Imagine sitting at the dining room table playing cards with the table warmly lit, but the rest of the room in shadow, except accented highlights on your prized art or photos.
Pros: This lighting effect will create the perfect mood for intimate gatherings such as the above card game, or a relaxed dinner party, a wedding planning meeting, or a plain old booze-up.
Cons: This effect can be too muted and not create enough light to work by. The trick is to choose the fittings, such as pendants, that have a narrow beam angle, then position them to cover just the amount of area you want to light, e.g. your dining table.
Check out a collection of home bars for inspiration
6. Mix low lighting types for group movie viewing
You’ve managed to get all the members of the family together for a movie marathon, that’s the hard part done. Before you snuggle up together on the couch, crank up the surround sound, and create some ambient light behind you at about 20 per cent, have task lighting over a side table barely on at 5 per cent, and let the show begin.
Pros: This lighting scenario is rather simple in composition, but amazingly effective in creating the right mood. Essentially you want to remove any ambient lighting between your eye and the TV screen. Achieve that and your TV image will look better than you’ve ever seen it.
Cons: If your family enjoys this too much, you may well run out of things to watch!
You’ve managed to get all the members of the family together for a movie marathon, that’s the hard part done. Before you snuggle up together on the couch, crank up the surround sound, and create some ambient light behind you at about 20 per cent, have task lighting over a side table barely on at 5 per cent, and let the show begin.
Pros: This lighting scenario is rather simple in composition, but amazingly effective in creating the right mood. Essentially you want to remove any ambient lighting between your eye and the TV screen. Achieve that and your TV image will look better than you’ve ever seen it.
Cons: If your family enjoys this too much, you may well run out of things to watch!
Hopefully this guide has been helpful to you in planning your new lighting or giving you some ideas to refresh your current lighting. In a nutshell here are the most important takeaways:
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What kind of lighting do you have at home to set the mood? Share your tips in the Comments.
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- Add dimmers to all/most of your lighting circuits.
- Make sure you buy dimmable fittings from a store that has documented test results of their dimming performance.
- Be creative, be daring, and experiment with lighting types, positions, and brightnesses.
TELL US
What kind of lighting do you have at home to set the mood? Share your tips in the Comments.
MORE
Browse a gallery of lighting products
Choose whether you want your lighting to reflect your mood, or shape it. Dimmed warm lights on a rainy day will make a room feel snug and cosy, cool accent lighting will show off your home while hanging out with friends, and natural ambient with warm task lighting will set the perfect scene when entertaining a small group.
How lighting can set the right mood