By sunny Lighting is a crucial aspect of interior design that directly affects the ambience and comfort of your home. However, when it comes to interior lighting design, many people will make some common mistakes. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at 6 common interior lighting mistakes, as well as introduce some interior lighting design rules that will help you create a more ideal lighting environment in your home.
Common Indoor Lighting Mistakes
Relying on only one light source
Relying on only one light source is never advisable in interior lighting design. The key to good flat lighting is the coverage of different light sources. Even if there is a very nice and expensive lamp, designers do not recommend relying on it alone to illuminate an entire room.
Imagine walking into a room where there is only one light on and the light is extremely unevenly distributed, bright and harsh in some places and dim in others. Not only does such lighting fail to create a cosy atmosphere, it also affects your movement around the room.
To solve this problem, you can combine several types of lighting using different levels. For example, in the living room, in addition to the main lamp on the ceiling, you can place a table lamp on the table. The table lamp can provide localised bright light for activities such as reading and writing, while the main lamp on the ceiling is responsible for the overall lighting. With this combination, you can make the light in the room more even and softer for different uses.
Lights are too bright
There’s nothing worse than feeling harsh light in your home. When lights are too bright, they can negatively affect your vision. Prolonged exposure to bright light can make your eyes feel tired and dry, and may even lead to vision loss.
Also, overly bright lights can hinder concentration. In such strong light, the brain will be in a state of tension, making it difficult to relax and focus on something. Also, it may cause fatigue, making you feel exhausted after spending some time in the room.
To avoid this, designers recommend not ignoring dimmers to adjust the brightness. Dimmers give you the flexibility to adjust the brightness of the lights according to different scenarios and needs. In addition, choosing bulbs with a warmer white light is a good way to go. Warmer white light is softer and more comfortable, which can create a warm, relaxing atmosphere and make you feel at home in your home.
Choosing the wrong wattage
The choice of wattage for your lights is crucial. If you confuse the wattage of your lights, it can cause some unexpected problems. For example, if you choose a wattage that is too high, the room may be as bright as an operating theatre and the light and shadows may seem too sharp, giving you a cold, uncomfortable feeling. Conversely, if the wattage is too low, the room will appear half bright and half dark, unable to meet the needs of normal use.
The designer gives the recommended wattage distribution for different rooms. The kitchen, as a place for cooking, needs bright light to ensure accurate operation, so 75 watts of lighting is recommended. The living room is a place for the family to relax and play, and needs soft and sufficient light, so 75 to 80 watts is appropriate. Overhead lighting is used for overall illumination, so 75 watts is sufficient for basic needs. Side lighting in the bathroom requires 60 watts to ensure that there is enough light for activities such as washing up and make-up, but not too much glare.
Nowadays, LED lamps are becoming increasingly superior to traditional incandescent lamps. Manufacturers usually indicate the equivalent on the packaging to make it easier for consumers to choose. But if they don’t, simply divide the incandescent lamp’s wattage by 8 to get the corresponding LED lamp’s wattage. For example, if you use a 100-watt incandescent lamp, divide it by 8 and you’ll get an LED lamp of about 12-13 watts.
Use built-in backlighting with care
Built-in backlighting, while it can add some unique ambience to a room, can cause problems if not used properly. Too much spotlighting can make the ceiling look like Swiss cheese, full of holes that not only detract from the aesthetics, but also make the room look cluttered.
This light scenario is more suitable for ‘work’ areas. For example, in the kitchen, during the cooking process, clear light is needed to observe the colour and texture of the ingredients, and the built-in backlight provides localised bright light for easy operation. The same applies to changing rooms and bathrooms. Using built-in backlighting in these areas makes it easier for you to pick out clothes, do the washing up and other activities. However, in other areas, such as bedrooms and living rooms, it would be inappropriate to use built-in backlighting too much to avoid spoiling the overall atmosphere.
No positioning of switches
Positioning of switches is also an issue that is often overlooked in lighting design. Designers recommend planning the lighting scheme after the furniture layout plan is ready. This is because proper positioning of switches can bring great convenience to your life.
As a rule, switches are placed 5 – 15 cm from the side opening of the door handle and at a height of approx. 90 cm. This design does not attract too much attention and is very comfortable to use. You can easily find the switch to switch on the light when you enter the room and switch it off when you leave the room. If the switch is not positioned properly, for example too far from the door or at the right height, it can cause inconvenience in everyday life.
Forgetting the lights in the dressing room
When ordering a wardrobe, many people give little thought to lighting. But in reality, lighting in the changing room is so important that it greatly simplifies the preparation time for events such as getting ready for a party in the evening or morning.
Imagine picking out clothes in a dimly lit dressing room, where it’s hard for you to see details such as colours and styles, and you may waste a lot of time by repeating the selection over and over again. With good lighting, on the other hand, you can easily find the right thing to distinguish another pair of black trousers from the rest of your clothes.
The best option is automatic smart lighting. When you open the wardrobe door, the light comes on automatically; when you close it, the light goes off again, making it both convenient and energy efficient. But if you don’t immediately think of installing automatic smart lighting, then you can also buy compact lights. These lights are compact, easy to install, and provide enough light for the dressing room.
Rules of interior lighting design
Interior lighting is an essential element in creating the atmosphere of the environment, but its primary function is to provide the effect of illumination of the space. Lighting lighting is not just a continuation of natural light, but in the architectural decoration to make full use of the bright and dark collocation, the combination of light and shadow to create a comfortable, beautiful light environment. Thus, people pay more and more attention to indoor lighting design. Next, we will introduce the rules of indoor lighting design.
Safety principle
Lighting installation place is a frequent place for people’s indoor activities, so safety and security is the first place. When carrying out lighting lighting design, strict safety measures must be taken to prevent electric shock, short circuit and other safety measures.
When installing lamps and lanterns, make sure that the wires are firmly connected and well insulated to avoid leakage of electricity. At the same time, it is necessary to choose lamps and electrical equipment of reliable quality and carry out construction in strict accordance with the specifications. For example, the installation height of the lamps and lanterns should meet the requirements to avoid the danger of people touching the lamps and lanterns. Only in this way can we avoid accidents and protect the lives of our family members.
Principle of rationality
Lighting lighting is not necessarily to more good, strong to win, the key is scientific and reasonable. Lighting design is to meet people’s visual and aesthetic needs, so that the interior space to the maximum extent possible to reflect the practical value and appreciation of value, and to achieve the unity of the use of functional and aesthetic functions.
The flashy light fittings not only can not add flowers, but add to the snake. For example, in a small room installed too many large chandeliers, not only will make the room look crowded, but also cause power consumption and economic losses. Moreover, excessive lighting may also cause light pollution, which is detrimental to health. Therefore, when carrying out lighting lighting design, according to the size of the room, the use of other factors, a reasonable choice of the number of lamps and lanterns and power, in order to achieve the best lighting effect.
Functionality principle
Lighting lighting design must meet the requirements of function. Different spaces and different objects need to choose different lighting methods and lamps, and ensure appropriate illumination and brightness.
For example, the lighting lighting design of the living room should adopt vertical lighting, which requires even distribution of brightness and avoids glare and shadowy areas. This allows the family to rest and entertain comfortably in the living room. Indoor display, generally using strong light focus to emphasise its image, its brightness is 3 – 5 times higher than the general lighting. Often use colour light to improve the artistic impact of the display, so that the display is more eye-catching.
In the bedroom, the light should be soft and warm, you can choose wall lamps, table lamps, etc., to create a peaceful sleeping environment. In the kitchen and bathroom, on the other hand, bright light is needed to meet the needs of cooking, washing and other activities.
Principle of aesthetics
Lamps not only play a role in ensuring lighting, but also have become an indispensable decoration for indoor space because of their great attention to shape, material, colour and proportion.
Through the light and dark, hidden, strong and weak rhythmic control, the use of transmission, reflection, refraction and other means, you can create different styles of artistic mood atmosphere. For example, in a modern minimalist style living room, you can choose a simple shape, smooth lines of the chandelier, with warm yellow light, for the living room to add a sense of warmth and fashion. In a retro style bedroom, you can choose wall lamps with retro elements to create an elegant and romantic atmosphere.
The material and colour of the lamps are also important. Lamps made of metal can give a modern, technological feel, while those made of wood have a more natural, warm atmosphere. Colour, according to the overall tone of the room to choose the colour of the lamps and lanterns, so that it is coordinated with the style of the room.
In short, indoor lighting design is a comprehensive work, both to avoid common lighting mistakes, but also to follow certain design rules. Only in this way can you create a practical and beautiful home lighting environment, making your home more warm and comfortable. We hope that the above can help you to take fewer detours in interior lighting design and create an ideal home space.