Lighten Up
Often overlooked in critical home construction planning stages, there is no single ingredient with greater long-term influence than imaginative lighting.
The best part about a thorough lighting plan is the magic you create when all main “task” light sources are extinguished, leaving only the glowing accents.
At night, a home becomes a wonderland of drama where artwork, shapes, and silhouettes burst into prominence.
Try to get as much of your lighting on dimmers as possible. Dimmers are energy efficient, they enable different mood scenes, and they allow you to get the best use from your spaces.
Puck lights are an ingenious way to create soft lighting in display niches that don’t commonly require bright light such as shelves and cabinetry; they accent unobtrusively, with sensual illumination.
Art Light completes your artwork, just as art completes a room. Sculpture can be dramatically lit by ceiling pin spots, framed pieces by gallery lights mounted above.
Cove lighting – when confronted with ceiling height limitations during renovation, surround the room with a new soffit containing up lighting. A metallic-painted ceiling can produce an especially spectacular reflection.
Recessed rope lighting mounted under a recessed bathtub kick or raised platform bed creates a surprising effect while enhancing a sense of space.
Landscape lighting in your garden creates entirely new dimensions after dark. Carefully placed spots and floodlights shining into trees and against walls will make plant life bloom with mysterious new moods.
Design Like a Man
