Let the light show the way

No light, no room. With light, a room can be as big or small as you want it to be. And as warm or cold as you want it to be. But you need to know where to start. We started by talking to Anna Vejde Anklew, lighting designer at Art of Light, who are pioneers in the field of lighting and help renowned hotels, restaurants, museums and companies all over the world to decorate through lighting.

– The most important thing when lighting your home is to have light on different levels, it creates a living room in harmony with the interior design and architecture, says Anna.

– You definitely don't want a home with a flat general light, which you get if you use the same type of lighting everywhere.

Anna talks a lot about the levels, and about the living light, which is warm and cold, which casts shadows and which is both calm and dramatic. Which harmonises with daylight as well as dawn and dusk light. And which is in constant change.

With Anna as our guide, and with the aim of giving you the tools to decorate with light, here is the only light guide you need to take your home to the next level.

Seeing light as the interior design element it is

If you're wondering why your walnut kitchen, which you've invested so much in, looks cold and grey, you'll probably find the answer in the light rendering. The light simply fails to bring out the heat in the wood. Once you realise that it doesn't matter how much time you spend on colours and materials if the light can't reproduce it fairly, you're well on your way.

Find the right light sources – and consult an expert

The quality of the light source is key. And the most important is the colour rendering, which is measured in RA or CRI depending on the manufacturer. You should have an RA of at least 93 for the light to reflect your interior well (the sun has 100). If you can't tell the quality of the light source, go to a store that sells light sources for help.

Definitely don't make the mistake of buying a lamp based on watts. This behaviour is a holdover from the days of the incandescent lamp, when the carbon wire always burned the same and gave the same identical bright yellow glow. With the advent of the LED lamp, with its cooler, slightly bluish light, we have a completely different market and watts don't mean anything anymore.

Switching between heating and cooling

The colour temperature is what sets the mood in the room. Cold light makes you alert and lively. Warm light makes you feel soft and calm. So use a cool light during the day, and then switch to a warmer one when it gets dark.

A dimmer is the answer. Often we use dimmers to go from strong to weak light, but you should also invest in one with a 'dim to warm' effect, which switches between cool and warm colours.

Dare to spotlight

Everyone can work more on their spot lighting. Use downlights (spotlights) to illuminate interior features such as paintings, potted plants, tiled stoves, stucco and other architectural details. Illuminate behind screens. And dare to put lights in your furniture.

But be careful with the spittoons

Downlights are great for spotlighting and architectural design to create drama in a room, but are less suitable for general lighting of large areas, which unfortunately they are often used for. Either the result is patchy, or a single large carpet of light, giving a dead impression.

To create a vibrant room in your home, you should illuminate the walls and ceiling, but downlights instead illuminate the floor, creating a dark night sky. And when space is not directed upwards, the whole room is perceived as negative.

Don't be afraid of the dark

Maybe you do what most people do: light up when it's dark outside. When you should do the opposite. The light inside should reflect the light outside the windows. By that logic, you should light up more during the day, when it's bright outside, and dim down in the evening with few but warm light sources.

In addition, too much light can give a flat impression. It is in the contrasts that the magic happens. Dare to have dark patches between spotlights to create a vibrant room.

Let the kitchen lead the way

Most of us spend the most time in the kitchen. A complex room that requires many levels of light to meet all needs. But once you've got your kitchen right, the other rooms go by the wayside.

Start with general lighting, as always. Continue with directional lighting on work surfaces, spot lighting in windows and on details and finish with the most important: a directional ceiling fixture to create warm cosy lighting above the kitchen table. And don't forget: Dim to warm.

And finally, always do a light test when buying a luminaire.

Look beyond the design when buying a lamp. Many luminaires today have a built-in LED module; the light source comes with the lamp.

Then it's time to light test so that you don't come home with a lamp whose light doesn't harmonise with your interior. Firstly, switch on the lamp in the shop. And preferably bring textile samples or a cushion from home to see how they work together.

Products featured in the post

Perch Light Floor

Moooi

Shogun

Artemide