Consider the various functions of the lighting you will provide. Most importantly, you need illumination in certain areas of the room for specific tasks, such as reading, writing or playing a musical instrument. This type of lighting is referred to as task lighting.
In addition, you need sufficient overall illumination so people can simply see where they're going, and so they don't trip over that great furniture that you have carefully placed in the rooms. This general lighting is referred to as ambient lighting, which is the overall lighting that permeates the entire room.
Of course, it's hard to separate the function of the lighting from the function of the room, and the two should work together. For example, if the function of a home study is to provide a place for reading, working on the computer, and sitting at a desk, you want to have lighting that will help with those functions; you'd want some kind of soft ambient lighting, with reading lamps strategically placed.
However, the function of a kitchen is very different; here, you need brighter ambient lighting, as well as task lighting for particular areas, such as the cutting board and the kitchen sink.
In our next issue, we'll take a look at how different types of lighting can create a particular mood in a room.
Reprinted with permission from the Sheffield School of Design
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