Light: An Illuminating Trend
there's no need to stay in the dark
2007-09-12
By Penelope Blair

The effective use of lighting can enhance a room, highlight treasures, enclose a large space or enlarge a smaller one. But how do you use lighting as part of your design?

Joe Rey-Barreau, an architect, consultant and interior design professor at the University of Kentucky, travels the country tracking lighting trends and reports three major movements in lighting currently: Casual elegance - Casual lighting that is a little more upscale. Simplified traditional – Remove the excess and simplify. Soft Contemporary - Clean, modern and simple in style.

“Interior lighting is always the last thought on my client’s mind, however it is one of the most important elements. It can make or break a room design,” explains Beverly Hills designer Lisa Turner, President of Interior Obsession and a founder of the Society of African-American Interior Designers.

Here are four lighting tips to help illuminate the “wow”:

Create a lighting plan - A lighting design plan simply means to determine your needs and how the space will be used.  In your kitchen, do you pay bills at a side desk? Is this where you entertain? Your answers about how a space is used defines what type of lighting will be needed. One room may require several types of lighting solutions.

Determine a lighting category – According to the American Lighting Association (ALA), lighting generally falls into three categories: General, Task and Accent. General lighting provides overall illumination of an area. Task lighting helps you perform a particular task such as reading, writing, or cooking. Accent lighting creates visual interest by adding drama. It can be used to highlight antiques, bring out the design element in a wall’s texture or illuminate a certain area. 

Explore and experiment – Chandeliers and Chandelettes or mini-chandeliers, are a hot trend. “Both are being used in all types of spaces, including the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen,” states Monty Gilbertson, Manager of Lighting Design by Wettsteins in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He adds that portables and semi-flush lighting are also hot. “Portables are hot because of all the new looks, colors, bases and shades that have hit the marketplace. Semi-flush lighting is gaining popularity because they can handle higher bulb wattages, provide more light, and you don’t have to take the fixture apart to reach the bulbs,” says Gilbertson.

Talk to an expert – “Lighting professionals can not only help homeowners choose fixtures to suit their style and budget, but also give expert advice on where to place those fixtures in a room for the best possible lighting application,” says Sherri Kelley, ALA Manager of Communications. “They can show you how the smallest details—such as the location of a recessed spotlight or a reading lamp—can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of a room’s lighting.”

If you haven’t achieved the wow factor you were hoping for, maybe you simply need to shine some light on the situation.

Penelope Blair is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to ebonyjet.com

Photo: designsponge.com