Ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting are the three primary forms of lighting used to improve a place. An effective lighting plan makes the most use of these three forms of lighting to illuminate a room based on purpose and style. Ambient lighting offers general illumination to a room, while task and accent lighting are more focused on a single function. This sort of illumination should never be underestimated.
What is Accent Lighting?
Accent lighting is a kind of lighting that is typically used to illuminate walkways with soft light. This kind of lighting, on the other hand, may be utilized to highlight essential items and focal points in the house or surrounding landscape. Many people, for example, like displaying certain pieces of artwork or other collectible artifacts in their homes. Others may like to draw attention to water features or plants in the landscape. When adding light to a certain item, it may also aid to establish or generate a specific mood in the space.
Types of Accent Lighting
Wall sconces – Wall sconces are light fixtures that are attached to the wall directly. Wall sconces often direct light upwards. However, depending on how they are designed, they may beam light out, down, or all around. Sconces are available in a wide range of designs, sizes, materials, and colors. As a result, they are the most creative sort of accent lighting. With so many options, you’ll be able to select a wall sconce to match any home decor.
Track lighting – As the name suggests, track lighting consists of light bulbs mounted on a track. Because the track incorporates electrical wires, you don’t have to wire each bulb separately. The track is immediately mounted to the ceiling to offer extremely direct downlight over a kitchen counter, bookcase, or wall of art.
Table lights- A lamp may be used as accent lighting. These are often one-of-a-kind lights that match your home design style. An old copper pipe, for example, might be reused with wiring and a filament bulb to make an industrial-style accent light that can be placed on a desk or end table.
Recessed lighting- These are ceiling lighting that is situated above the ceiling line, so the bulk of the fixture is out of sight and out of mind. Only the baffles and trim are visible. The baffles are located inside the recessed can in which the light bulb is housed, while the trim is the metal or plastic circle that runs around the recessed light and fits flat against the ceiling.
Hidden fixtures-They are not called recessed lighting, despite the fact that they are often recessed behind or under something. These are often light strips that can be neatly tucked away into a crevice. They might be used to frame a mirror in your bathroom or as a nightlight under your kitchen cupboards.
Image source: MODERN.PALACE
The Benefits of Accent Lighting
Fixing up your room with new furniture, décor, and other items can set you on the right road, but accent lighting can tie the concept together and make the area seem complete. Whether you’re looking for wall sconces, floodlights, recessed lights, or track lighting, there are plenty of alternatives available to get the aesthetic you want. Best of all, accent lighting, no matter how basic it is, may have a significant influence on the overall atmosphere of the space.
Here are some insights into how effective accent lighting may genuinely be. Here are a few of its benefits:
1. It Creates an Eye-Catching Focal Point
With the right accent lighting, you can turn your visitors’ heads as they approach the space. Certainly, the purpose of this fixture is to direct light to another location or item, but it may also function as an attraction zone on its own. If this is your style, chat to your personal decorator about locating the appropriate item depending on your goals.
2. It May be Used to Complement Your Wall Décor
Accent lighting may also be used to make a space revolve around a certain piece of wall décor. Using overhead lighting or floor lights to draw attention to decorations does not work well since they are not focused on them. With accent lighting, the fixture may easily fit in with your wall design.
3. It Has the Potential to Boost the Mood in Your Space
Accent lighting is a great method to establish the correct tone in a space in a subtle manner. This is particularly true if you’re interested in dimmers, which are lights that can be dimmed and brightened manually and can convert a space from gloomy and romantic to comfortable and inviting.
4. It’s the Ideal Piece of Year-Round Décor
Many of your home’s decorations have a season stamp — they’re either out for one season or seem to be boring midway through the year. Accent lighting, on the other hand, may be used as a year-round decoration. Discuss with your personal decorator what kind of fixture would look best in your space, regardless of the season.
5. There are Several Styles to Choose from
As previously said, there are several kinds of accent lighting fixtures to pick from. This enables you to be adaptable and make the greatest judgments dependent on the mood you’re attempting to create.
Photo: Randall Whitehead; Interior Design: John G. Hartin, Turner Martin Design
How to Add Accent Lighting to a Room
To obtain the best outcomes, consider the following variables when selecting accent lighting for each room:
Identify distinguishing elements or eye-catching artwork
Do you have framed family photographs that you’d want to display? If you have a row of wall sconces and a series of photos or a long custom bookshelf that needs lighting, that’s all you need. Just make sure to position your accent lighting far enough above your focal point so that the light hits it at the proper angle and doesn’t overpower it. Remember that this style of lighting is supposed to complement your property rather than overpower it.
Locate a Blank Canvas
Hallways are often disregarded, resulting in a fairly drab and monotonous promenade. Consider this your blank canvas, and add a pop of color with an accent light like the Lynn Wall Sconce by Visual Comfort. This light serves as décor thanks to its flowery flourishes in a polished silver leaf finish. The artistic fixtures could also be used in an entryway, empty stairwell, or small powder room where the walls would otherwise be bare.
Consider Your Mood
Each room’s lighting should define – or at the very least compliment – the tone of the space. Home theaters, for example, are designed to be both comfortable and spectacular. They also have little need for trinkets. Set the tone while adding a decorative touch with accent lighting. Conventional panel light is transformed into a conversation piece by the pointed crystals in a staggered posture. Not to add that the specks of light are all that is required in a pleasant home theater.
Measure Out Your Available Space
Accent lighting, like wall color, may make a space look bigger. Diffusing light upward and downward can extend the height of the space while teasing the texture of the wall. Also, in general, the brighter your place is, the larger it seems.
Fill in the Blanks
Chandeliers and pendant lights supply the majority of the lighting in a space, but they cannot reach all four corners and crevasses. Bathrooms are infamous for having dark patches and odd shadows that make getting ready in the morning difficult. Accent lighting, on the other hand, may fill in the gaps. An opal glass diffuser and adjustable LED illumination allow you to vary the intensity based on your mood and the time of day.
Keep the Best for Last
While you may have painted all of the walls, arranged your furniture, and hung every piece of art you choose, you are not completed. Accent lighting is the crowning achievement of your fantastic home renovation. Do not underestimate its potential to change the ambiance of a space or highlight a specific area. You don’t have to worry about making it work with so many other kinds of accent lighting. Simply have a look around and evaluate your accessories. Consider what requires more attention, and then use these suggestions as inspiration to finish your décor.
Best Accent lighting Ideas
LED Strips as Accent lighting
You can add some personality to your area by installing accent lightings such as table lights or LED strips. Yeelight LED Light Strip 1S can be used to add tasteful accents throughout your home, including your dining room, bedroom, kitchen, patio, and living room. They’re especially great for adding décor for holidays, parties, and special events.
When selecting LED strip lights for accent lighting, it is critical to examine the number of LEDs per meter. If there aren’t enough LEDs for the length of tape, you’ll wind up with tiny spots of light instead of a continuous line, which won’t give you the sleek effect you want. We propose using a Yeelight LED Light Strip 1S Extension to avoid this.
Creating the right accent lighting can be very technical and complex and there are some variables to consider in making an excellent plan. However, when achieved, it surely can improve the dull appearance of a room and make it more impressive by giving a little personality.
Toe Kick Lighting
Lighting a toe kick can give the illusion that a cabinet or vanity is floating above the floor, adding a little extra wow factor. Linear LED lighting is our preferred method for lighting toe kicks for the same reasons it is our preferred method for illuminating ceiling coves.
Toe-kick lighting can also be used as a nightlight as an added bonus. A LED toe kick, for example, that traces its way around your lower kitchen cupboards and island may provide just the appropriate amount of light to help you traverse the kitchen while you’re making a late-night trip to the fridge.
In-cabinet and Shelf Lighting
Lighting shelves or glass-front cabinets will draw attention to their contents while also adding another layer of intrigue to the area.
To highlight the things on solid shelves, place an LED strip light on the bottom of each shelf. This is particularly useful for wood shelves into which the strip light may be recessed.
Try a tiny LED recessed light or puck light put at the top of the cabinet and pointing downwards for cabinets with glass shelves. This adds a little glitz when the light streams through each shelf and bounces off the items on it.
Yeelight Motion Sensor Closet Light
