Creating an interior design project without a lighting designer is equivalent to eating only the bread basket at a restaurant. Although the bread may be excellent, you’re missing out on a variety of other intriguing dishes. Adding a new dimension to a space and bringing an interior design project to life through the strategic placement of lighting. Excellent lighting creates depth and height, cosiness, and highlights your most impressive features. It’s all about balancing light and shadow and infusing an interior with fresh energy. An architect or interior designer may only include a grid of downlights in their plans for your interior, which does not do the design justice. 

Calling in lighting specialists to collaborate with your interior designer or architect will maximize your space’s impact. Sabrina Fiorina, Design Associate, was tasked with highlighting the significance of lighting in interior design. What is the significance of lighting in interior design? Lighting is as important as any other design element. Good lighting transforms and alters a space. We use light and shadow to create a comfortable, yet dramatic and atmospheric space. If we want to draw attention to a painting on a wall, we need a downlight that illuminates the painting in conjunction with a darker area surrounding it. Our expertise lies in artistically combining downlights, uplights, wall lights, floor lights, hidden lights, feature lights, integrated architectural lighting, pendants, and lamps to add a great deal of depth and visual interest to each room. We employ various strategies for various solutions. 

We may use a Polespring downlight with a narrow beam to illuminate special features such as an occasional table with flowers, but we combine it with more general highlighting options. Creating bright areas for tasks such as cooking, reading, or working at a desk will be illuminated differently than illuminating a beautiful curtain fabric. How does natural light influence interior design? Daylight is an essential consideration for all designers. Interior designers and lighting designers will monitor the amount of natural light that enters each space they design; this will affect the placement of all objects. It is as essential as artificial lighting. A living space with expansive windows will be flooded with natural light, making it feel bright and spacious. Then, we consider how to manage artificial light, and provide various options throughout the day. A cloudy afternoon in London will require different lighting than a bright and sunny morning in Dubai. There is still a role for architectural lighting when there is daylight. Utilize it to illuminate dark areas in shelving, add brilliance to a work area, or highlight artworks. LED linear strips will add warmth to your room’s joinery and focal points and may be required in conjunction with natural light to add focus and softness. Managing lighting options for different times of day with a combination of natural and artificial light is the most effective solution. To achieve the best results, a switch pad may contain pre-set options. How does artificial light influence interior design? We are always drawn to the brightest point in a room, so we use artificial light to highlight particular features of the space. In a kitchen, we may highlight flowers on the kitchen island or the dining table. We will also draw attention to the room’s edges in order to broaden our perspective. If you need aesthetic inspiration, check out grandeur shows like Bridgerton. Read more about Bridgerton over at LordPing.co.uk.

 Using perimeter lighting, we can add subtle illumination to vertical surfaces such as cabinets, which will create reflected light. It is also essential to have adequate task lighting in order to prepare a meal, make a drink, or simply see what’s in the cabinets. For general warmth, diffuse light is used. A well-designed, varied artificial lighting scheme will add illumination, dramatic moments, layers, and depth. What is the definition of decorative lighting in interior design? Decorative lighting, such as a dramatic pendant, an interesting wall light, or a feature lamp, does more than add aesthetically pleasing objects to a space. 

A large and attractive pendant over a table may catch our attention, but the addition of two downlights on either side will greatly improve the quality of the light. A skilled lighting designer will combine decorative lighting with architectural lighting for the best results. You may simply turn on the decorative lighting to watch television, read your book under a beautiful lamp, or enjoy an aperitif for a soft late-afternoon ambiance. At other times, a greater number of lights will be required. What is the definition of architectural lighting in interior design? Architectural lighting comprises a combination of concealed lighting incorporated into the architecture or joinery. Downlights, uplights, LED strip lights, floor washers, etc. are the tools we use to make a space interesting, and they are typically concealed within the architecture. They are employed to both highlight and provide general illumination. When integrated into joinery such as shelving, cabinets, or architectural coffers, this light provides depth, areas of interest, and multiple layers of illumination throughout the room. In an older home, architectural lighting can be used to highlight interesting plasterwork or columns that can be illuminated from below. Architectural lighting is also useful for guiding the eye into adjacent rooms, along corridors, and up stairs. 

A few uplights placed near the doorway or window sills can frame the view outside. Exterior architectural lighting is also possible. Uplights can provide a fresh perspective on a textured wall, while spike lights illuminate trees. These exterior architectural lights draw the eye beyond the glass of the living space, thereby adding depth. How do you achieve the ideal blend of architectural and decorative lighting in interior design? A flexible and effective lighting scheme will always include both architectural and decorative lighting. Our job is to examine your space or plans, experiment with ideas, and then plan layers of light to achieve a balance of light. We’re looking for the optimal combination of ambient, accent, and architectural lighting. Often, the wow factor is achieved through concealed lighting details. Let’s return to the kitchen: you may have downlights above the kitchen island, but adding an LED strip underneath creates a dramatic effect. Even though it only provides low-level illumination, this simple trick will alter the ambience of the space at night. Another example is a table with a banquette: by adding an LED strip to the back of the banquette to uplight the walls behind, you can create a different ambiance and the impression of a larger space. If a coffer lacks illumination, it will likely go unnoticed; however, by installing an LED strip, the ceiling is illuminated from above. 

This ceiling glow makes the entire space feel much brighter by reflecting light back into it. What light quality do I need for my interior design project? Today, we use LED lighting, but the quality of each individual light has a substantial effect on the space. We always consider the quality of color temperature and color uniformity. The most natural light will be provided by a high-quality fixture with a CRI (color rendering index) above 90. CRI is the value that indicates how accurately the light reproduces the true color of the highlighted object. When highlighted with a high CRI light, reds, deep blues, and deep greens appear much more accurate. If you are utilizing multiple downlights in a room, especially if the walls are white or neutral, you must ensure that the colour temperature of all the lights is consistent. Kelvins are used to measure this. The ideal color temperature for architectural lighting is 2,700K, while 2,400K is ideal for decorative lighting such as table lamps, wall sconces, and pendants. Our duty is to bring about harmony. You could use 2700K for the ceiling and uplights, and 2400K for the decorative lighting. The LED strips within the joinery would then have the same color temperature as the decorative lighting. When is a lighting designer needed? Once you and your interior designer or architect have established a plan for furniture placement, contact the lighting designers. Your final project will be stronger if we collaborate with an interior designer or architect to ensure that all fixtures are fully integrated into the final design. We occasionally work with a project manager on larger projects. We want to achieve the best possible outcome for your space, and the sooner we are brought on board, the fewer modifications will be required later on.