When creating the interior design of any room, two of the most important factors you want to keep in mind are its function and style.
The function of a room relates to how the room’s design aids its purpose. On the other hand, MTD Management says, the room's style refers to how much pleasure it creates in the minds of the people who enter it.
What are the design elements that create a room’s style and function?
A room’s architecture is the primary thing that determines its style and function. But other aspects of its design also help to influence how well or how badly that design performs.
Interior design elements like the color of walls, the choice and placement of furniture, and the decorative accessories in a room can significantly impact its style and design.
But above all, lighting is the number one influence in the style and functionality of any room. Lighting determines the ambiance of a room and how well it serves its purpose.
The power of lighting in rooms
This power of lighting lies in its ability to create or influence moods. Different colors and intensities of light have distinct effects on the human mind. Bright lights make people more alert but can also make them somewhat anxious. Dim lights, on the other hand, encourage the body to slow down and effectively induce relaxation and sleep.
This is important when trying to create the right atmosphere in rooms. For instance, to inject an intimate ambiance into a room, you should use light intensities and colors that promote warm emotions. But bright and direct lighting would be the preferred option if your goal is to stimulate brain activity and help people see the finer details of objects.
These considerations should be present from the first stages of designing a space. As soon as you define the uses of that space and start to design its physical dimensions, it would help if you also began to plan its lighting. Planning the lighting in a room is not as important as planning the furniture and accessories for that room; it is more important.
What do you need to know when planning the lighting scheme for your interior design?
The right way to light your home
A good lighting scheme plays a functional and aesthetic role. The function of the light is the amount of illumination it provides. The style of the lighting is about the mood it creates and how the lighting highlights the features of the room. Good lighting should make a space easier to use and more beautiful. But how do you achieve these results?
First of all, you should know the three levels or types of lighting for a room:
· Ambient lights
These types of lighting are typically placed at the highest levels of a room. They are designed to shed light evenly across the entire room. Ambient lighting is principally for aiding navigation, lighting up walls or surfaces, and making rooms feel alive.
They are the primary light sources for a room. Chandeliers are examples of ambient lights. Ambient lights are practical and decorative.
· Task lights
These light sources have a focused range; they are not designed to light up the entire room. Instead, their goal is to direct a beam of light on a relatively small area to aid the activity done in the area. Examples of task lighting include pendant lights suspended over a kitchen island, reading lights in the living room, and under cabinet lights. Task lights are very practical.
· Accent lights
Accent lights mostly serve a decorative purpose. They are primarily used as highlights to accentuate design features. They help to draw attention to specific aspects of the home, such as architectural designs, décor elements, or pieces of furniture. Accent lights play a support role to the ambient lighting in the room. They are for creating a wow effect.
In addition to the three types of lighting, other things to remember when lighting a space are space and color management.
· Color management
Lighting can deduct or add to the color of your walls. The lights in a room and the colors in that room are constantly interacting. Before using specific colors for your walls, furniture, or flooring, think of how they will affect the lighting. Choose your colors carefully because it is easier to adjust the color of the lights than to change the color of your walls.
· Space and lighting
Lighting can create an illusion of space or lack of it. Poor lighting will appear to shrink the dimensions of a room, while good lighting will appear to expand the room. The position and size of objects, such as furniture, will also influence how bright rooms are and how spacious they appear. Use lighting creatively to make your rooms seem more spacious, airier, and inviting.