7/6/11: My Thoughts on Lighting

Lighting provides focus:  Crystal modular lighting (Kentfield Collection by Boyd Lighting)  uses lead crystal beads and balls strung on satin nickel mesh which shimmer and reflect as they catch the light.  The lighting focuses your attention on the contrasting white upholstery of the two chairs. 



Lighting provides decoration:  Moroccan Lamp.  The black metal frame contrasts with the carved filigree panels.  The lamp provides a subdued light and evokes the strong Moroccan sun passing through an awning or trellis.



Lighting softens space:  This sink and counter are enlivened by round recessed lights in an overhead bulkhead. Their light washes over the walls in a pleasing arch-shaped pattern contrasting with the rectilinear shape of the walls and mirror.



Lighting reinforces rectangular theme:  Natural light enters through rectangular windows creating crisp blocks of light on the platform bed and floor.  A back lit hanging panel above the bed platform introduces both light and a swirl of decorative pattern.

Lighting as design element:  Rectangular, box-like recessed lights contrast with round recessed lights in the ceiling.  An undetermined light source splashes in convex shapes over the rectangular panels behing the bed.
Minimalist cylindrical table lamps top the bedstands.  Interestingly, the window has been covered in a opaque film and does not provide any light at all.  Maybe an urban setting with neighbors too close or a showroom display with no view or natural light at all.

As shown above, imaginative use of lighting can result in stunning spaces.  Lighting is a crucial design element that must be considered during the design process.  Probably, too often, it is an afterthought and is only added to a room after the other features have been designed and selected.  In the examples above the designer employed natural and artificial lighting to highlight walls, ceilings and to create a unique sense of place for the space.  He/she considered light and lighting thoughout the design process and employed its characteristics to complement and highlight the other design elements of the space.