In an article at the Telegraph, a designer was quoted defining good lighting as something that ‘even makes the cheaper marble tiles in the bathroom look priceless’. And that’s true. There is a genuine art to it that can make all the difference in whatever stylings you have in mind for your home, workplace or any business operations. Clever lighting can ensure that the ambience always remains stylish and looks amazing, even if you don’t want to spend too much on furniture of wall colouring/re-colouring.
The truth is, you don’t have to spend too much on anything at all. Lighting creates atmosphere and even compliments negative space (which in this case, is the furniture you don’t necessarily have to buy) to give the room a sense of moody atmosphere. Which is why, you’ll always see places like Bars and pubs being quite under-lit at all times. Or for example, music festivals or concerts, like this for example:
In this case, the single lighting scheme complements the otherwise darkness of the atmosphere perfectly (and probably the nature of the music) to keep the audience immersed. This entire scheme makes use of only lighting (which yes, is LED). However, if that example is too oblique for you, consider this picture:
Notice, how well the light reflects off the wood to give it such a brilliant sense of sheen. It’s just an ordinary room but it looks so moody and well-lit. The light complements all the wooden surfaces (cupboard drawers etc.) to give the whole thing an ‘orange teal’ type look. This is a common occurrence in pictures/advertisements of various hotels/hotel rooms if you observe, where they are purposely under lit to be kept looking as exotic as possible.
But mood isn’t the only purpose of lighting, visibility is also an important factor. Certain places have to be over-lit on purpose, like Airports, family restaurants, conventions etc. That doesn’t mean that you can’t be creative. For example, take a look at this picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai:
The place is flush with lighting but contrasts this with an eccentric colour scheme and a tinge of blue neon lighting to give it a slightly ‘exotic’ look. The designers got really creative here and it shows.
Interior designers have different ideas on how they make use of lighting and it’s best to consult a few of them and discuss exactly what you want/ don’t want for your room/house/office. Switching to LED lights is also highly recommended, due to their extreme flexibility in colour schemes. Try using lighting as your primary method of making your environments looks great instead of things like excess furniture, art and other expensive stuff. Give it a long, healthy thought.