Light has the capacity to completely alter the way a room works (and to affect the mood of the people in it) so both the quantity and quality of that light needs to change according to the use that is being made of the room. Good lighting can make a sitting room more comfortable, a workspace more functional and turn bedrooms and bathrooms into havens of relaxation.
To get lighting right you need to understand the three key types of lighting at your disposal:
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Ambient lighting provides overall illumination and sets the tone in a room. Where once a single pendant light would have provided all the ambient light, far better results can be achieved by using multiple light sources at different heights.
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Accent lighting is used to focus attention on a certain part of a room such as an architectural feature or a piece of artwork.
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Task lighting supplements the ambient lighting in a room for when you are engaged in certain activities. For example, bathrooms benefit from lighting directly over the mirror, and food preparation is easier with a bright downlighter beneath a wall-hung cabinet.
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Once you've got the right light fittings you need to decide how to control them. Systems for controlling lights range from the traditional wall-mounted dimmer switch to more sophisticated systems which allow you to pre-program different 'scenes' that are appropriate to the different ways you use a room.
Adding lights doesn't have to send your electricity bill through the roof. Low energy bulbs use less energy for the same amount of light as traditional bulbs and last longer too, and many modern dimmer switches actually reduce the amount of energy consumed by the lights they control.
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