Lighting does more than just allow homeowners to see at night. It sets a mood and creates an overall feeling for the room. To create spaces that homeowners will enjoy, lighting designers say to divide the light into three layers: ambient, task, and accent, with ambient being the main source of light for a room. This base layer should fill the room, while task can illuminate a specific area. CNET’s Molly Price says always consider the color temperature of the bulbs and how the different layers will interact with each other.
Uniformity is key here. Don't mix and match bulb types, brightnesses or color temperatures in one room's ambient light fixtures. For example, all recessed lights or ceiling fans lights should be the same. This keeps the feel of the room consistent. Consider carrying over this uniformity into adjacent rooms and spaces, especially if you're living in an open floor plan.
Once you've got all your lighting in place, balancing the layers just depends on the scenario. Dimmable ambient lighting can be lowered for a movie night or brightened for a game day party. Consider smart lighting products like Lutron's Caseta switches or Philip's Hue's smart bulb starter kit to create scenes you can activate at the touch of a button or voice command.
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