Creating Mood with Lighting Fixtures
"Light is among the richest experiences our senses have to offer; no other medium can match it."
Light can glow, create shadows, model forms, reflect from polished surfaces, pass through translucent and transparent ways, distort shapes, be mystical and romantic, depending upon how light is angled, diffused, and positioned. Lighting is an element of design which should be used not only for visual comfort but also to achieve predetermined emotional responses to the lighted environment.
Lighting is one of the most powerful elements of design. Lighting fixtures can infuse the simplest space with richness and depth. Home lighting can be manipulated to obscure and highlight, create plays of shadow and color. Lighting fixtures can transform the atmosphere of a room in the same way that lighting in theater transforms the stage.
There are no hard fast rules in regards to the location of particular types of lighting fixtures. Professionals can only recommend following certain general rules of home lighting design. For an instant, in the hallways, walkways and other parts of the home where is a consistent need of lighting, it is the best to use lighting fixtures that will provide a general lighting (ceiling lighting fixtures, chandeliers).
Home entrance lighting. The entry is the first room encountered when arriving, and the last when departing. The correct lighting makes it as beautiful as the rest of your home. Let your entry set the mood for what's to be found deeper within your home. Use lighting to accent your favorite pieces of art, visually expand the entry space, lead the eye, and make your guests feel at home.
Living room lighting. The living room is a gathering place for family and friends that has to accommodate groups of people with warmth, comfort, and style. Your lighting can help. In the living room, along with lighting fixtures for general lighting, also use lighting fixtures that provide a functional and localized for a particular activity lighting (table lamps, floor lamps). Usually, functional lighting fixtures are located where they are needed - near sofa tables, armchairs, etc.
Bedroom lighting is not just for sleeping; these more private rooms need flexible lighting that can change from functional to romantic to suit the need and mood of the moment. For the bedroom, choose lighting that works, both technically and aesthetically, with a decorative style of your bedroom. Bedrooms that are designed in the traditional styles need gentle lighting to preserve their mood. In the bedroom use lighting fixtures that produce soft reflective lighting. Near the bed on the bedside table is an excellent place for a lamp with a low wattage light bulb. Lighting fixtures with the "color corrected" lamps to obtain the best color distribution are needed near the mirror above the dressing table in the bedroom.