EVERY HOME LOOKS BETTER IN THE RIGHT LIGHT
When it comes to home interiors, the right lighting can turn a house into a spectacular residence. Even a home with the best furnishings and design can be let down by poorly executed lighting. Read below for some of the best ideas that residential lighting designers use to make the finest homes in Santa Monica, CA, shine.
SEE ALSO: Lutron Lighting Control Lets You Manage Lights Your Way
BALANCING NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Think of interior lighting in two parts: natural and artificial. Both types will affect a room, as light interplays with different surfaces, materials, colors, and finishes. Lighting is not the art of adding brightness to a room. Lighting should be layered, and each layer has its purpose. Functional ambient lighting, like ceiling downlights, provides a base level of illumination. Accent lighting can highlight things like a room’s architectural features, unique furnishings, and artwork. Feature lighting like sconces, pendants, and lamps can serve both decorative and functional purposes.
COLOR TEMPERATURE
Color temperature can dramatically change the ambiance and the feel of a space. Light color temperature is thought of as “cool” to “warm,” measured in Kelvins. Warm candlelight is in the range of 1500K, while bright, cold light – like a fluorescent light warehouse – runs around 6500K. Most home lighting is in between these two ends, depending on the room and its purposes.
Color temperature is a familiar concept, as bulbs of every lighting technology have been offered in different color temperatures for years. But color rendering is less familiar. Color Rendering Index (CRI) measures light’s ability to reproduce the color of a surface accurately. On a scale of 0-100, 90 or above means that a given light accurately depicts the true color of a surface. Lighting solutions like Lutron Ketra feature highly accurate color rendering, making all the nuance, color, and texture of interior finishes pop.
One of the latest advances in lighting design is tunable lighting. This feature of LED bulbs and fixtures allows the color of white light to be adjusted, from cool and bright to candlelight warm. This allows lighting designers to create the perfect ambiance for different activities and times of day, adding aesthetic beauty and increased comfort to a home.
MASTERING LIGHT
How do you achieve the perfect blend of layered light for any space? The easiest way is with automated lighting control. Systems such as Lutron can expertly control ambient, accent, and feature lighting to make any room look its best at any time of day. With tunable lighting, you add the ability to vary light color temperature throughout the day for increased focus, energy, and relaxation, as well as creating a soothing aesthetic effect.
When considering lighting control, residential lighting designers also harness the power of automated window treatments and shading. Motorized shades help control the Southern California sun to allow the right blend of light in a home for comfort and energy efficiency.
Want to see more of what professional residential lighting design can do for your Santa Monica home? The team at Malibu Wired is ready to assist. Contact us by giving us a call, filling out our online contact form, or chatting with an expert on staff in the pop-up window below to schedule a no-obligation consultation. We look forward to working with you!
