Universal Lighting Design Strategies for 4 Key Home Areas

Universal Lighting Design Strategies for 4 Key Home Areas

Lighting can create play by highlighting shadowy locations and creating glowing focal points, but as we age, we require more uniform and balanced light levels. All rooms — and ages — may benefit from this very simple lighting strategy: up, down and all around.

Forum Phi Architecture | Interiors | Planning

1. Entry Lighting

Many entrances have some natural lighting, so the goal for this space is to ensure sufficient lighting for the night and those times once the clouds roll in. Inside this entry wall sconces add ambience and free up room on the console table, even though a ceiling fixture gives a good number of overall lighting. Great colour contrast in the furniture, flooring and lighting fixtures helps in depth understanding and produces a warm welcome.

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

This living area has the full gamut of light. The recessed cove lighting brightens the ceiling and reflects down light, a skylight brings in natural light during the day, light over the cabinets brightens an otherwise dark recess, downlighting in the pot lights defines the perimeter of the space and accents the fireplace, and lamps deliver overall ambiance lighting.

This light mix provides a more uniform light and is effective at reducing glare for added visual comfort.

VELUX

Velux Sun Tunnel Skylight

Light tunnels or solar tubes are an alternate to skylights. They take up less space and are small enough to include in a walk-in cabinet, closet or hallway.

Read more about solar tubes

REFINED LLC

2. Hallway Lighting

Sometimes it’s simply not feasible to add pot lights or a mild tunnel at a ceiling. When surface-mounted fixtures would be the sole option, the positioning and quantity of fittings are key to attaining a balanced light degree while decreasing dark corners.

Forum Phi Architecture | Interiors | Planning

This hallway combines both brightly and surface-mounted fixtures. This combination creates additional flexibility for nighttime light — particularly vital for young and older when visiting the bathroom. The ceiling-mounted fittings or the pot lights could also be triggered by a motion sensor for safe navigation during the night without anyone else needing to remember where the light switch is.

186 Lighting Design Group – Gregg Mackell

This bridge comprises linear floor lighting. This is a great illustration of pathway light and visual cueing. This idea can be transferred to a regular hallway using the same light kind, or it is also possible to use recessed floor lights to create a similar effect. Lights placed closer to the wall and having an etched diffuser should reduce or remove any warmth.

Kemp Hall Studio

Wall sconces are just another design tool utilized for visual cueing. Folks can gauge their destination or location by following the path of wall sconces. A wall sconce can also be used to mark the entry of significant rooms.

Phil Kean Design Group

This hallway market offers a fashionable way to add lighting and visual cues. Lighted niches keep the hallway free from obstruction since the light is at the wall instead of protruding. It also provides the hallway a little bit of flair in a time when universal design can be considered as sterile and institutional.

Vanguard Studio Inc..

Developing a focus in the end of a long hallway can help an individual of any age to judge space and offers a cue to an upcoming transition. Lighting that focal point increases the visual cueing and adds yet another light layer for ambience.

Dream House Studios

3. Task Lighting

Task lighting is not only for kitchens — concentrated lights are overriding wherever any endeavor is performed. This laundry and crafts area accomplishes this with activity lighting in pendants in the island, undercabinet light for the countertops and a good number of natural lighting in the window.

Lisa Adams, LA Closet Design

4. Closet Lighting

As we age, finding and distinguishing colours in a cupboard becomes more difficult. These LED light bars can help someone distinguish between black and navy blue in a jiffy.

Kichler

Cabinet Lighting

Lighting is comprised through the cabinetry interior of the cupboard. It creates not only a uniform light scheme, but a small comparison between objects to the shelf for easier distinction.

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