Light plays an important part in the look, feel and atmosphere of your house. Whether the light is natural or artificial, the proper use of light can transform your house from drab to dazzling. The play of dappled sunlight through sheer curtains or the glow of a fancy night lamp on the wall surrounding it can evoke wonderful feelings of joy, contentment and satisfaction. Truly, a house becomes a home when it has the right ambiance; otherwise, it is only a shell.
However, to make light work for you, it is important to understand the different kinds of light. To a layman, all lights may seem the same. But, if you want to design your house so it encapsulates all your desires and dreams, then, you have to discern the minute differences in the various types of light.
There are basically three kinds of lights in a room. These are task lighting, accent lighting and ambient lighting. The clever combination of these three kinds of lighting and the appropriate use of each in the different areas of the room will ensure that you have just the right pool of light in every corner of your home.
Task lighting, as the name suggests, is used to throw focused, clear light. This is the kind of lighting you see above study tables, in libraries or in the areas lying above the kitchen workplace. These are busy places where people come only to get their work done. Accent lighting is somewhat similar to task lighting, but its purpose is slightly different. Accent lighting is used to throw certain features of the house into sharp relief. An excellent example is the kind of light used near art pieces to accentuate the beauty of the piece. You can see accent lighting above the vanity mirrors in bathrooms. Ambient lighting, as the name suggests, is used to create ambience. In this case, the light would be a soft, muted glow through a beautiful fixture. Ambient lighting simply enables us to see clearly; it performs the function of natural light. Ambient lighting is a fundamental part of the design of any room.
These kinds of lights can set the right mood to any room. They are versatile and available in all kinds of style and color. So it becomes easy for you to express your individual taste and style. Styles vary from brass, crystal and pewter to popular bronze and wrought iron finishes. In flush mount lighting fixtures, the bulb is completely covered by the bowl of the fixture. These fixtures make use of bulbs with lower wattages, as there is no gap for the heat generated by the bulb to exit.
These fixtures are a fantastic substitute for recessed lighting.