By Tiffany Buckins
One area within home furnishing that people often struggle with is lighting. Most people will only use general lighting to light their bedrooms and bathrooms, which can lead to these rooms lacking ambience and functionality.
So to ensure you create a beautiful, balanced room, make sure you have the correct lighting. It is important to remember there are three types of lighting functions: general, task and mood.
Follow my top tips for successful lighting:
- Think of each activity you do, step back and evaluate the lighting levels. Can you really see well enough to perform that task? Adding extra light sources can really improve how you feel and interact within your space.
- General lighting is just that; typically these lights have a wider pool of light and create an overall good lighting level. These are generally down lights or ceiling lights.
- Task lighting is a concentrated light source that helps you see better when performing a specific task. Think adjustable floor lamps for reading, integrated wardrobe lighting to help you find the right shoes and vanity lighting to ensure your makeup is just right.
- Mood lighting creates ambience; it doesn’t serve a functional purpose but it makes a space feel more harmonious.
- Cable management is a big frustration in people’s homes. Using a cable management box is a great way to keep the cords and wires hidden and allows you to still charge your phone or iPad.
- Make the switch to LED: LED is the biggest thing in light since electric light was invented. It shines for over 20 years, can be built into lamps for new designs, and uses a sliver of the energy of incandescent bulbs. LED lights are the sustainable choice, and the smart, functional choice.
— Tiffany Buckins is the head of interior design at IKEA Australia
