Lighting Design for Function and Comfort

From task-oriented to tranquil, a smart lighting scheme provides physical comfort and pleasure.

Residential lighting has come a long way in recent decades. Gone is the single ceiling fixture at the center of every room, which washed out the people or objects beneath it and cast drab shadows in the corners. Lighting is now recognized as an integral part of interior design. Like furnishings, fabrics, and finishes, it helps create a home's character and style. More important, good lighting makes a house more livable.

Lighting stores provide a wide array of options, from different types of bulbs and beam spreads to decorative fixtures. The choices can be daunting. But lighting design is an art than can be simplified by thoughtful planning. The goal is a balanced scheme that is layered and flexible, producing optimum light while consuming a minimum of environmental resources.

Lighting designers recognize four basic types of illumination: ambient, task, accent, and decorative. Ambient is indirect light that fills the room, reduces shadows, and sets the background against which other lighting is built. It comes from light reflected off ceilings or walls from sources such as opaque wall sconces, cove lighting, and torchieres. Task lighting - such as a reading lamp or under-cabinet lights in the kitchen - improves visual clarity by focusing on a specific activity. Accent lighting adds sparkle and interest by highlighting objects and architectural elements. Recessed adjustable fixtures and track lights fall into this category. And decorative lighting is the crowning touch in an interior design - such as a neon sculpture, colored art-glass fixture, or shapely chandelier.

Layering Light

Every room needs ambient light, but it's most important in the living room, the gathering place for family and friends. Light bounced off ceilings or walls make people look younger and more refreshed. "Think of the glow from a roaring fire," says San Francisco lighting designer Randall Whitehead, author of 'Residential Lighting: A Guide to Beautiful and Sustainable Design. "That glow fills the room, reflects onto people's faces, and makes them feel comfortable and welcome." Without it, the light from accent or task fixtures tends to dominate. Whitehead calls this the "museum effect, and it communicates that what you own is more important than the people you love."

The easiest way to create ambient light in a living room is with torchieres. Metal or opaque shades are better than glass, which can create glare by projecting light out instead of up. Next, add accent fixtures such as track lights or recessed wall-washers to highlight a painting or a stone wall's texture. And no living room is complete without task lighting - table lamps to read or play games by, preferably with a swing arm.

These same principles apply to the family room, where a TV is often the focus. Since having only one source of light causes eye strain, low-level ambient light at night is ideal to minimize television glare. Placing an accent or task light next to the seating area makes it easier to use the remote control.

"You layer light by taking the four functions and blending them together in a space to create a cohesive lighting environment," Whitehead says. "Almost all rooms need all types of light, and some can be put on a dimmer." Task lighting is particularly important in the bedroom, bath, and kitchen. In the bedroom, place it next to the bed, dresser, and on both sides of the mirror to eliminate shadows on the face. In the bathroom, light the tub, sinks, and shower area. Fixtures can play a dual role. For example, an alabaster bowl-shaped pendant is decorative, and creates a warm halo reflected on the ceiling and walls.

Today's kitchens are a catch-all for activities ranging from food prep to kids' projects. Function comes first. Bright, evenly spaced light sources from the ceiling ensure that the room is free of annoying shadows or glare. Indirect light atop cabinets creates ambience by bouncing light up, and also acts as a secondary accent light. This is typically achieved with strips of dimmable incandescent lights, fluorescent lights, or LEDs. Recessed spots or pendants are often used over sinks, range tops, and breakfast bars. And under-cabinet fluorescents make great task lights for work surfaces.

When choosing fluorescent or compact fluorescent lamps, there's no need to settle for the harsh light of years past. Bulbs are labeled in terms of color temperature, or degrees kelvin (K). An incandescent-color fluorescent light is around 2,700K. Bulbs with a halogen effect, whiter than incandescent, are 3,000K. And a daylight look, which is bluish-white, is 5,000K. "We use 5,000-degree bulbs in walk-in closets where people get dressed without natural daylight, and in laundry rooms so they can tell the difference between navy and black socks," Whitehead says.

Comfort for All

A well-designed home lighting plan is doubly important for people with physical or sensory impairments. As people age, for example, they need more light and less glare. That means fewer bright light sources and more soothing, indirect lighting, evenly distributed. Bedrooms, in particular, should have small doses of light all the way around the room, says Patricia Rizzo, design program manager for the Lighting Research Center at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. She recommends lighting for orientation, since flipping on a bright light is disturbing and makes it hard to fall back to sleep. Small puck lights or fluorescent or LED strips around a doorway can help people find their way to the bathroom at night.

"With LEDs we have more ability now to install little doses of light in different places," Rizzo says. "They can be placed on the side of a cabinet, or on a lower level that accommodates the height of the counter people are working at." For wheelchair-users at a lower vantage point, under-cabinet lights and pendants may produce too much glare. Choose pendants with diffuse acrylic lenses on the bottom, and put them on a pulley so they can be moved up and down. Living room should be equipped with adjustable-height floor lamps with flexible, articulated arms.

Lighting controls are another important piece of the puzzle. Switches should be handy, intuitive, and unobtrusive. Use lighted rocker switches, 36 to 42 inches from the floor, dimmer switches to vary light levels, and occupancy sensors. Even better, installing programmable controls simplifies switching by allowing users to set scenes.

All these ideas, of course, work best when combined with a house that's designed and oriented to make the most of natural daylight, so that energy costs are reduced. Keep in mind that, in our part of the world, a southern exposure receives the most sunlight, so a house should be sited with the long axis running east-west, which also minimizes afternoon glare. Windows are ideally positioned on at least two sides of a room to provide the most abundant and balanced natural light. Once the floor plan is set, sunlight can be added from the top with skylights or solar tubes, and from the side with windows and clear or translucent doors and walls.

The best lighting scheme is both flattering and functional. It's a powerful decorating tool that gives shape and texture to a room, banishes dark corners, creates the right mood - and makes the home a more pleasant place to be.