Miscellaneous
Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt.In our 22nd episode, Mary talks about lighting. When you're lighting a room or a particular feature, there are now so many opportunities. I was looking at some LED lamps which I'm going to use on a desk, and it's amazing because their lifespan is probably 15 years. You really don't need to worry about light bulbs, and the beautiful part is that you can lift the lamp off, head it in different directions, it'll never get warm, it's really just a pleasant type of light to enhance a work area.Do I want this type of lighting everywhere in my room? No, not really. Nor do I want cans, coming from the ceiling, as one of my clients called it, a swiss cheese ceiling. Aren't we tired of these? There are so many other ways to interestingly light a room and give you a much more enhancing and beautiful effect. I was taught that you never use a highlight or a spot on people. Terriffic on a sculpture, plants, or other object, but definitely not on people's heads. I think so often when I look at kitchens and see all of these down lights, with the heat coming off of them. Here you are cooking, with this light coming down on your head, adding to the heat created by cooking. Not the right way to light a kitchen, but how many different ways are there?We're doing a bathroom right now where we've added a small light underneath the vanity. Here, we have the benefit of simply having that on while entertaining guests. As they walk in, they can see where they're going. In that same bathroom, we're making sure that there are variations in lighting. If you happen to come in and don't want a lot of light glaring at you, you can have a soft light. If you happen to be doing makeup or contacts, you can have a lot of light.We also look at our surfaces and reflection of light to determine that type of lamping that we want to use. It isn't just dropping lights into a room. How do they reflect? How do our eyes pickup the details of that space or the functions of that space. What color eyes do you have? What age are the people? What is their height? Are they standing, sitting, or just how do they expect to need light for the subject that goes on there.You see, it's a material which has wonderful opportunities. It can be our friend or it can be a problem. When we walk into a room, the first thing we notice is a light source. Windows or lighting. The second, of course, is color. Since lighting is so primary, look at your lighting. Is it really what you want it to be?Mixing lighting is where we go today. Look at your rooms. Do you have all one kind of lighting? If so, review it. You probably want to add a few others. I like lighting coming from different lights and directions to enhance and show the dimension of the space. Lighting is a tool. Use it with skill an pleasure.Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.