Layered Lighting: The Ultimate Guide

By Dusk Lighting / July 26th, 2024 / There are currently 0 comments

Layered lighting within your home is a subtle and extra way to help you achieve the desired atmosphere and warmth to suit your overall decor. Suppose you are looking for a simple yet effective way to move away from the traditional singular tones of lighting and add versatility to your home. In that case, layered lighting will be the perfect way to incorporate texture and richness.

What is layered lighting?
What are the 5 layers of lighting?
Why is layered lighting important?
How to layer lighting at home

What is layered lighting?

Layered lighting is a design collated of five aspects to create maximum atmosphere, warmth and vibrancy within your home. Our homes have been lit simplistically for many years with a single-bulb lighting fixture or lamp. However, with layered lighting, each room of your house will radiate modernity that will match its intended function and feel.

What are the 5 layers of lighting?

Ambient lighting

The first avenue of layered lighting relates to the general ambience, often called the base layer. The overall ambience of a room and ways to achieve it will vary due to its size and shape, yet many types of lights can contribute to creating your intended feel, such as floor lamps, chandeliers and wall lights. It is important to always keep in mind the size of the room and equip it with the right amount of light. For instance, a smaller room with a low ceiling will require less lighting than that of a larger room with raised ceilings.

How you utilise ambient lighting should adhere to your room’s colour scheme or feel, avoiding colour clashes or making your room appear jarring. With this in mind, you may accent your neutral decor with a softer ambience, whereas a boldly decorated room such as a child’s bedroom or playroom may use brighter or louder lighting.

Similarly, the purpose or intention of the room should also be considered when choosing your lighting effects. The layered lighting of a meticulously decorated kitchen or bathroom could lose efficacy if it does not complement the coolness or tranquillity often found within these home environments.

Task lighting

Once you have established your perfect ambience, task lights should be the next addition to your layered lighting. Task lighting refers to any duties or activities carried out within particular rooms. For example, cooking over a stove in the kitchen and brushing your teeth or applying moisturiser in the bathroom. Correctly using task lighting will make completing these tasks easier by reducing shadows, glares and anything that may cause eye strain.

It is, therefore, essential that the function of your task lights reflect the appropriate utility of the room you are working on. For example, our range of bathroom mirror lights will ease your process of getting ready in the morning or winding down at the end of the day. Alternatively, products from our selection of table lamps will be perfect for completing any writing tasks in your office space or for evening reading in your living room.

You should be methodical with your task lights when constructing your layered lighting. Consider the primary uses of the room you are lighting and which areas or objects should be dominantly lit. Within the kitchen, your main focus may be above the stove to allow full visibility when cooking, whereas your work desk will be a priority when illuminating your office space.

Task lighting will also differ depending on its functionality and where it will be used, particularly regarding angles and beams; a linear kitchen lighting pendant closely radiating your dining table will significantly vary in intensity compared to a bedroom reading light.

Accent lighting

Layered lighting allows for full personalisation when you accentuate particular features or accessories within each room, providing each room with a finish that feels like you. For example, you may have hanging photographs or artwork in your living room or a modern architectural design in your kitchen. You must utilise the correct lighting to ensure they stand out. Typical accent lights include track lights, recessed wall lights, or LED strip lighting, yet we recommend browsing our full range to ensure you select the lighting that most suits its purpose and reflects your style.

As a general guide, accent lighting should be three times stronger than ambient lighting, making harder-to-reach areas of your room easier to light. Added accent lighting strength will also give your room further texture and effect; this lighting design does not strictly need to be incorporated practically but should grant you freedom and flare to give your home an edge.

Daylight lighting

Daylight lighting plays a part in layered lighting when homes or particular spaces are on the larger side with plenty of natural light. If this applies to your home, the most effective technique would be to minimise artificial lighting and only use it when necessary; this may be during a particular time of day or in the darker, wintry months.

Your daylight layer will, however, pair nicely with accent or task layers when you perfect the perfect balance between them. The merging of these lighting techniques will also prove essential when striving for sustainability, providing you install the fixtures and controls efficiently and use them only when necessary.

Including daylight lighting will also cause the tones and colours of your room to be displayed nicely without the addition of effects, which is known to affect everyone who lives within or visits your home positively. It will also promote focus and control within your day-to-day tasks and improve mental health.

When using daylight lighting in office or work-related areas, consider adding glare-reduction features into the space and extra fixtures to minimise heat build-up.

Decorative lighting

The final part of layered lighting falls within the overall decoration, allowing you to choose lighting features that simply look appealing and reflect your overall decor. With many different lighting options, this layer allows you to inject some personality into a room. Whether your approach is quirky, understated or sophisticated, Dusk Lighting has the perfect pieces to achieve that final finish. Now that you have mastered the lighting to suit your home, a glass, wood or brass lighting accessory will act as an ideal round-off.

Why is layered lighting important?

With the endless possibilities of home decoration, layered lighting is important for several reasons, from achieving the perfect look to adding depth and texture to different rooms. Whether you embed layered lighting into your decor for practical or aesthetic purposes, it will hold great importance without you necessarily being aware!

Dimension and depth

When used correctly, layered lighting can cause smaller rooms to appear more spacious, thanks to decreased shadows. At Dusk Lighting, we know some rooms may lack appeal due to their purpose; for example, it’s only natural to want to spend more time in your living room than in your home office. However, layered lighting can make your home office more attractive and inviting, making even larger workloads feel doable.

Multifunctional

Due to its very nature, layered lighting allows you to use an array of fixtures simultaneously for different purposes. Maybe you need to concentrate on extra work at the dining table while someone else cooks an evening meal. With multifunctional lighting, you can be sure that each task can be completed with full focus and comfort.

Perfecting a mood

Though ambient lighting is the key factor in establishing and changing a room’s mood, all layered lighting components play a part in the adjustment. If you alter one or a few layers, a different vibe will transpire depending on your chosen lighting variation. While you might reduce an accent light for a softer feel, other layers may complement this and create a different vibe.

Showcasing specifics

In line with the function and purpose of the room, your decor and accessories will vary significantly. However, with the correct layered lighting, you can alter the focus to achieve your desired effect regardless of the room. For example, though you may accentuate a photograph in the lounge or a decorative vase in a dining space, the layered lighting will make the overall room feel wholesome and complete.

How to layer lighting at home

When incorporating layer lighting into your home, it is important to make the most of all possible lighting areas to ensure maximum effect. For ease, differentiate your lighting into positioning or purpose categories, which can be found below.

Vertical lighting

Vertical lighting is ideal for rooms with high ceilings or vertical architectural designs to create dimension and exhibit focus. We recommend using ceiling, recessed downlights or pendant lights for overhead lighting to best establish your base layer.

For extra depth to areas of the room that can be viewed at eye level, floor lamps, table lamps and wall lights will assist in executing the perfect feel.

Horizontal lighting

Layering horizontal lights creates the illusion of added width within your room when light is distributed evenly throughout. For rooms with particularly long, horizontal stretches, picture frames and wall accessories can be accentuated with track lighting. In contrast, kitchen cabinet lighting or strip lighting brings added length to your facilities.

Depth lighting

Maximising depth within your home allows primary and secondary aspects of your decor to shine through, highlighting spatial dimensions. Depending on the size of your room, you may wish to experiment with different lighting fixtures for maximum effect; this may be through observing different lighting angles to determine how you can convey texture or extension.

Ordering your process of layered lighting

Establish your ambience lighting or base layer to outline the initial feel of your room.
Incorporate vertical, horizontal, and depth layering to add dimension and texture to your room. You should initiate this step with task lighting followed by accent and decorative lighting.
Assess the steps you have taken so far to ensure you are on the right track to achieving your desired look and feel. Do any areas of the room lack appropriate lighting? Does your lighting convey the appropriate mood for the function of the room? Add, remove or rearrange lighting as you see fit.
Test all your lighting upon installation to ensure purpose, functionality, and need are equal. You may need to adjust brightness, fixture placement or colour intensity for that perfect finish.

Perfect your home’s layered lighting with Dusk Lighting today!

Dusk Lighting is committed to helping you make your perfect home. Whether you are updating your kitchen, bathroom or lounge, take comfort in knowing we are here to help you get your layered lighting just right, making each room of your home reflect your style.

Purchase your favourite lighting from Dusk Lighting now and have your home looking and feeling better than ever.