4 Reasons Why Lighting Is The Most Valuable Interior Design Feature

Many designers see lighting as the ‘secret weapon’ to a stunning and practical space. It helps to create depth, height, and style, while drawing attention to the areas that are most impressive.

In some cases, though, an architect or interior designer may simply pencil in a grid of downlights, which won’t do justice to what’s been designed. Calling in lighting designers to work alongside existing professionals will maximise the impact and functionality of your space.

Here, we explore why lighting is the most valuable interior design feature, and why you should call upon a lighting design expert to ensure an optimal lighting scheme for your home.

1.    Lighting determines the ambiance & mood within a room

You’ll often find that someone’s mood has a direct correlation to the lighting they’re exposed to. Think about it, we’re generally happier and more upbeat during the bright, sunny days in summer, and feel a little more downbeat during the dark, early nights in winter. Well, the same affect applies to lighting within your space.

In fact, a study conducted by the University of Toronto demonstrated the significance of light strength, showing that bright lights “intensify our initial emotional reaction to a stimulus”.

Some scientists also claim that lighting affects the regulation of emotions through the nervous and endocrine systems, causing us to feel happy or sad depending on the colour temperature and intensity of light surrounding us.

We often refer to the circadian rhythms too, which are the physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle responding to light and darkness. Your circadian rhythm can affect a range of things, including alertness and melatonin secretion, as well as your sleep behaviours and emotional responses, which can be disrupted with changes in light.

2.    Lighting makes a room fit for purpose

Every single room in your home has a purpose. Your living room was likely designed to relax in, while your kitchen is planned for more practical tasks like cooking and eating. Whatever the purpose in each room, it’s good lighting that makes it all possible.

When designing the interior of a space, it’s important to discuss how each room will be used to ensure lighting is planned accordingly. Lighting must be thought through during the initial design stage as it needs to adapt in various scenarios to get the very most from your home.

For example, the lighting requirements of a bedroom or study exposed to minimal natural light will be completely different to a big, open room that’s flooded with sunlight.

It’s careful lighting design that allows you to break up spaces into zones and ensure they’re fit for purpose.

3.    Lighting design affect colours, textures and features

Colour is a function of light reflecting of a surface. Meaning colour pigments (paints, dyes or inks) show their colour by absorbing parts of the light spectrum and reflecting the parts that remain. So, to put things bluntly, there’s not much point in spending hours selecting the perfect colours for your walls or ceilings if you’re going to neglect the light that allows you to see them.

Well designed lighting not only brings the best out of your colour choices, but highlights the textures within a room. It can also be used to draw attention to any standout features - from highlighting artworks and framed pictures to architectural features and more, lighting is the most effective way to bring your home’s unique characteristics to life.

4.    Poor lighting can hinder a well-designed space

Quite simply, rooms with stunning textures, gorgeous furniture pieces and expensive flooring can all be spoiled with poor lighting. There may be too much reliance on overhead lighting, washing the colours and texture within a space, or perhaps a lack of layering, leaving dark corners and killing the ambiance of a room.

Appreciate your interior with lighting design from Hampshire Light

We’d hate to see your space held-back by poor lighting. Here at Hampshire Light, we have over 20 years’ experience designing detailed lighting schemes for homes throughout Hampshire and surrounding counties. We call upon the latest and greatest fixtures, control systems, and design techniques to give you and your home the lighting it deserves.

For more information on how we could bring the very best lighting solution to your space, contact our expert team today. Or download our brochure to learn more about our process, expertise and offering.