by Gail Ingis | Apr 25, 2013 | News, Technical
For interiors, all lighting fits into one of three main categories: ambient, task and accent. Most rooms use a mixture of lighting types and mix the three to create visual interest and meet the functional needs of the space.
Ambient lighting
Ambient lighting: flat all-over illumination bright enough to allow people to move about safely and perform simple tasks. It can be achieved by lighting the lower part of the room (direct lighting), or by reflecting light off the ceiling and upper half of the room (indirect lighting), or with recessed ceiling lights.
Task lighting
Task lighting: Lamps light the lower part of the room that makes it possible to read your mail, your book, your Kindle, you or the kids can do homework. There should be some ambient lighting so the room does not have dark holes, and the kids don’t fall face down on their homework. Yawn . . .
Accent lighting
Accent lighting: For enhancing artwork, an architectural feature, a sculpture, but If the space is lit only by accent lighting, there will be hot spots and glare. Proper ambient (general) light will soften the lighting so your eyes do not tire.
Uplights – there are wide choices
In addition, reflecting light upward off the ceiling and upper walls tends to give a room a spacious feeling and soften shadows on objects and faces. It can be attained with hanging pendants that direct light upward, wall sconces, or freestanding torchiere-style floor lamps.
Dimmers give you a way to control how much light is dispersed. Just remember the basics, the three ways to light a space. Depending on the mood you want to create, you can vary how you disperse the light. To avoid glare on a shiny surface, such as a glossy magazine, light coming from one or both sides or slightly behind of the work reduces glare. Light will reflect back at you if the light is directly in front of you on the book, etc.
Kitchen ambient lighting
The kitchen is a perfect place to demonstrate the three basics of lighting. The way we live today, most kitchens see us cook, entertain, watch TV, do schoolwork, teach, do your bills, and . . . have a glass of wine. So, you need good flat general overhead illumination, under cabinet lighting for specific tasks, like dicing vegetables or reading a recipe or doing bills. If you were to have art on the walls in the kitchen, as some collectors do, recessed accent lights would enhance the art and add reflected light to the space.
Kitchen task lighting
Candles as accent lights
Candles add mood to any space, and even the battery operated candles work, they are fun and safe. Now there are remotes for them. Check out Pier One. Remember . . . for all spaces, a combination of strategies works best.
If you have a room that needs light, use the basics to light it up.
What is your favorite type of lighting? What kind of space do you have that would take any of this lighting?
This article includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons.
http://www.lampsplus.com/kitchen-lighting/?cm_mmc=GOO-SE-_-Location-Kitchen%20-Exact–_-Core-_-Kitchen%20Lighting%20e&sourceid=SEGOO100519-b0033&gclid=CJ2u2fm64bYCFQVV4Aod6EkASA
by Gail Ingis | Apr 18, 2013 | News
“Let there be light.” And then there was light. Genesis 1:3
The Lord said, “Let there be Light.” And there was light. (Genesis 1:3).
We depend on light for lots of reasons. You can probably name five right now. Like: the grass, the flowers, the trees, vitamin D, good mental health. Light, the fulfillment of life.
Section of my studio. the space is 30’x14′
I am writing this in my studio, and there is light. North light, with which to paint by. So, what does that mean? Does it mean if I am doing something other than painting, the room’s light is worthless? No . . . this is a functional, beautiful space. This is where I work all day. I write, design, paint, listen to music. I just took this photo from my messy desk. I usually keep that back wall open for art that I am working on. Right now, I am writing my book.
North light facing room
Light is not a mystery, it is an awareness. We are addressing the light of nature, from outside, that would penetrate the house, the building, the bodega, not to be mixed up with artificial light, like lamps and recessed lighting. But what happens when a room suffers from no natural light or north light?
Do you have a room with little light, except for a few lamps? Darn, you say, what do I do with that room, it is so depressing? Right? Okay, so let’s talk about this natural light, where it comes from, and what it does. AND, what to do with your dark, gloomy room.
Colors good for a room facing north light
A north light room is perfect for art painting because there are no reflections to distort the picture. It is the truest light that an artist can have. North light is a constant cool, soft light, never sunshiny. So even on a rainy day, we love it. Sunlight creates reflection and light bounce, so even if the north light doesn’t have the sun in it, the light does have a reflected brightness, except when stormy. Without going into artificial light, the way to bring life to the space is with color and texture. Paint the walls a deep warm color, like Benjamin Moore’s “Designer Selective Colors: #861 or similar, (warm grays work), in an Eggshell finish (not flat), ceilings, bright white (flat finish) and all trim, bright white (satin or glossy finish). Use other reflective objects and finishes, like leather upholstery, or coffee table in leather, or glass, if you don’t have little kids. Something stainless steel or shiny chrome. Tile floor, with area rugs. Smaller reflective objects, like porcelain, small mirrors. Go for it, those implants will bring light into the space.
We have not yet discussed artificial light that do other types of brightening to a space. We can do wonders with ambient, task and accent lighting. Maybe next week?
Have you ever noticed how lighting is used on stage. Last night’s “American Idol” did some clever lighting, as they always do. Especially with Kree’s performance. Her stage set appeared as though she was in space.
What do you think? How much would you like to learn about lighting up your life?
http://www.benjaminmoore.com.
by Gail Ingis | Apr 11, 2013 | History, News
Hagia Sophia light shafts
A mystical quality of light reflects on all surfaces in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, the first domed basilica, now a museum. Tightly spaced rings of forty windows at the base of the dome were designed to provide light to what would have been a cavernous dark space, lit only by candles. The windows create an illusion that the dome is floating in air and resting on the light that flows through them. Without the shafts of bright sunlight bouncing around on the walls, the floors and the ceilings, how would anyone be able to see the varied patterns and colors of marble, alabaster, onyx and intricately designed mosaics? If you lower your lids you can almost see the angels flying within the sunshafts.
Hagia Sophia
For the curious…Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, renamed Istanbul, the renovation of an earlier basilica, was the largest church in the world. Earthquakes and structural problems made it necessary to renovate in 532AD. It was converted to a mosque in 1453 when the minarets were added.
The Cathedral of the Resurrection
Mario Botta’s The Cathedral of the Resurrection (1988-95) at Evry, France, is a cylindrical shell punctuated with bands of diminutive keyhole windows and overhead skylight. The sloping glass roof is inset with an equilateral triangle whose shape defines the three light sources that illuminate the interior. According to Botta, “To build a cathedral today is an extraordinary opportunity to create and enrich the environment in which we live.”
The Cathedral of the Resurrection interior
Botta believes the cathedral is a necessity for all as it connects us to the past, when our beautiful, old cities were new.
Pardon the cliché, but in truth there is no other way to say: Without the past, there is no future.
What’s your favorite window? How does it light up your life?
Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture. London; Boston: Butterworths, 1987.
Dupré Judith, Churches. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York, 2001.
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