Accent lighting is very important in the home. It adds texture, shape and focus to general lighting in a room by creating depth and shade using shadows in some parts of the room, and pools of light in others. By using a varied mixture of different types of light, including table lamps, up-lighters, down-lighters, tracks, and halogen spotlights, you can use decorative lighting to great effect in any room of your house.
When planning your room from scratch, it is important to decide which features you want to accentuate, and which features you are not bothered about. For example, you might wish to highlight a painting given to you by a favorite aunt, but on the other hand, you would probably prefer to cast in shadow the annoying stain on the carpet by the bookcase, which dates back to the last New Years party you gave. Once you have decided what needs highlighting, you can work out which lighting scheme will work best.
You can light glass from below or behind. If you have a glass display cabinet in your room, try placing some low voltage LED accent lights beneath the shelf, or a fluorescent strip cunningly hidden from view inside the case. If lighting from behind, use strip lights, not spot lights, as the effect does not work as well.
Books can be illuminated rather effectively with a clip on spotlight placed on the underside of the shelf. Alternatively, you can place a small table lamp on a shelf, which will cast some subtle light on to the books and ornaments.
Pictures and paintings can be tricky to light well, especially if they are behind glass as you then have the additional problem of reflected glare. To avoid this problem, try using ‘eyeball’ lights that can be swiveled around and set to a broad beam of light. An alternative method is to use a track lighting system with adjustable spotlights. This allows you to point an individual spotlight at a focal point of the painting.
Plants can be highlighted with accent lights rather successfully. For a large pot plant, spotlights can be recessed into the floor behind the pot, or an up lighter can be placed in the pot. This creates interesting shadows as the light bounces off the wall and ceiling and back into the foliage. You can also try using light strings to wrap around tall stems and potted trees for a very pretty effect.
All these methods can also be tried to great effect using outdoor accent lighting. Many people choose to accentuate certain parts of their landscaped gardens at night—most commonly water and architectural features. Solar accent lights are a great way of illuminating specific garden features such as ponds and trees. They do not require any expensive or complicated electrical installations, and can be fitted in minutes. Not only do solar lights save on energy costs, they also look wonderful in your garden when darkness falls and the area is transformed into a magical fairy grotto.
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