Home Lighting

from Malibu Times Magazine • Winter 2022

Entertain with Style

The Importance of LIGHTING

in Interior Design

BY MAYA WILLIAMS

Lighting is an absolutely transformative component in interior design and one of my favorite elements when designing my client’s homes. You can have the most beautiful and expensive fixtures in the world, but if the actual lighting it produces doesn’t work for the space, then the whole room is ruined. It’s like that famous "Seinfeld" episode when Jerry is dating a beautiful woman when the lighting is right, but when the lighting isn’t right, she is terrifying. That same “two-face” effect can happen with interiors, so a good lighting plan with the right fixtures and expert placement adds a whole other gorgeous dimension to a space and really make a project shine. It will set a mood and draw attention to areas you want to highlight and focus. We use light and shade to make a room feel comfortable but also make it atmospheric and dramatic. The proper lighting will achieve a positive emotional mood in a space. A higher level of lighting will create a cheerful effect, while lower levels can create intimacy, texture, and relaxation.

First, consider the size of the room that’s being lit. What time of the day is the room lived in mostly, and are there specific tasks that are routinely performed in the room that need appropriate lighting — office work, grooming, home theater, preparing food, hosting, etc. Effective task lighting is glare-free and diffused to prevent eye strain.

Important lighting tips to get the most from your fixtures.

BALANCE

Lighting needs to be layered, and having more than one light source in a room is ideal. There are three basic types of lighting — ambient, task, and accent. Layered throughout a room, they work together to achieve a rich and flexible lighting design. Ambient lighting provides overall illumination and is meant to create a general and uniform lighting level. Typical ambient lighting is recessed lighting, which we now specify in 3" or even 2" square or round sizes. For the most refined look on our luxury new builds, the lighting systems I’m specifying are lighting that is integrated into the ceiling, walls, baseboards, and in or around cabinets.

MULTI DIRECTION

Have the lighting directed from more than one direction. Ceiling lights are down lights. Wall lights are front lights. Table and floor lamps are up lights. Using a combo of directional lights will create layers and interest in a room.

SPACING

Space out the lighting sources. For instance, a wall light should not be near a floor or table lamp. Recessed lights should not be near pendants or fixtures to avoid casting odd shadows. If you want to highlight an amazing painting or piece of wall art, it’s not just adding a downlight but also making sure other lights are not too close, competing with the downlight and drawing attention away from what you want the focus to be on. Spread the light sources in a room evenly.

Directors of photography in movies and television know all too well how critical lighting creates the mood of a scene, but in film and television, the lighting is often hidden and out of frame. In home design, not only does the lighting need to workw to create the “scene” you want, but the lighting fixture itself is just as important. Fixtures are often a work of art themselves and can make or break a room.

Decorative lights are secondary to the main lighting source and support the overall lighting plan. I like to start with smaller LED recessed lighting placed evenly throughout a room without going overboard on the quantity. Find interesting and unique fixtures as conversation pieces to highlight the room’s focal points. Certain rooms may have various focal points. For example, in just one room, you may have a recessed lights, a ceiling fixture, sconces, and a table lamps. While other rooms may just have a main hanging fixture and sconces on dimmers.

After you’ve come up with your plan, the fun begins in selecting the fixtures themselves. Lighting is one of my favorite elements when designing homes. Great fixtures are so important to the overall aesthetic to a space.

Whether traditional or contemporary, I love to select unique lighting that is eye catching. The centerpiece lighting for large rooms, entries, and dining rooms that I specify are often from small ateliers and artists. Lighting is also one area where you can splurge without hesitation, as fixtures have no wear and tear. It’s the jewelry of the room.