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The Ultimate 

Lighting Guide

Lighting is an integral part of interior design, it has magical powers, highlighting, adding depth and intrigue, drawing the eye and even making a room look bigger as well as cosying up the space. 


What Are The Three Types Of Lighting?

Ambient Lighting
These tend to be the general lighting sources within a room and consist of overhead lights, recessed, pendant or chandeliers. They are designed to illuminate the majority of the room and can be quite bright. Don't make them the only lights in the room and ideally you need to have them on dimmers, so you can change the vibe of a room by lowering the light levels. This will prevent your house feeling all lit up like an airport lounge!


Task Lighting
These are the practical lights you need in the room, so desk lamps, reading lights, under cabinet lighting for preparing food in the kitchen, mirror lights in the bathroom, motion sensor lights in cupboards and drawers etc. Task lights are practical and functional, but they also make a room feel more beautiful and harmonious because you get little pools of light dotted around the room.


Accent Lighting
These are the lamps that you can load up on everywhere in the room, and Abi's favourite design trick. Plop lamps everywhere and anywhere, on side tables, consoles, on central islands and on the floor. These little glowing pockets of light create atmospheric, cosy, intimate spaces. As you enter a beautifully lit room you immediately get that feeling of squishy contentment. Use them to highlight architectural features, add a soft to glow alcoves or along stairtreads. Hidden backlights tucked behind headboards and above kitchen cabinets give an unexpected extra layer of glow. Or the lighting can be a feature in it’s own right, like a stylish floor lamp or a neon wall sign.


Home Lighting Tips

1. Use lighting as a spotlight on what you love
Enliven cosy corners or showcase your favourite piece of art and decorative sculpture. Create intriguing shadows with oodles of table lamps or portable lamps and you'll be amazed how the right lighting design can transform the feel of any room.  

2. Use mirrors to enhance your lighting scheme
You can make a space feel larger by using mirrors for  reflecting surfaces and light and also maximising your natural light. The bigger the better! Remember you can also play with scale so don't always go for a small or tall mirror, go big and bold to mix things up!

3. Opt for low wattage for your accent lighting
With so many light sources in a room it’s super important to have bulbs that are relatively low in wattage as they create a far more beautiful atmosphere. And I know I’m telling you to go overboard with the lighting but please please don’t eradicate all shadows completely. It’s the contrast between the light and shadow that makes all the magic happen.

Walker Table Lamp

Abigail Ahern

4. Use Dimmer Switches To Mix Up The Ambience
Dimmer switches are an absolute must. They allow you to choose the amount of light you want in a room. Whether you wan't use a soft light for an intimate dinner party with friends or crank up the light to when you need to make everything brighter.


5. Limit Recessed Down Lights

If you’re wondering why your room doesn’t feel right, a common mistake can be too many recessed down lights. If there are too many of them they tend to be a little harsh and soulless. Installing a dimmer switch can resolve this problem.


6. Aim For 8 Light Sources Per Room (at least).

One of our absolute golden rules at Abigail Ahern is to have at least 8 light sources per room. It sounds a lot but these can be from a number of different sources from portable lamps, table lamps, fairy lights and candlelight. Lighting is an integral part to making a room feel homely and cosy so don't hold back.



How To Use Lighting Design

To Transform Your Home

Lighting is one of the most game changing elements of interior design as it has a direct impact on mood and energy. Getting the lighting right is a key factor in how your room looks and feels so here’s some of Abi's goto tricks on how to use lighting to flatter every corner of the home.


Make A Statement
Adding a large chandelier above a dining table or console, or even as your central ceiling light, and hanging it a little lower than you would think adds immediate grandeur, a large pendant like the Drongo or the Sarria (pictured left) will have a similar effect. If you go larger than feels comfortable it makes spaces so much cooler.


Layer Your Lights
By choosing lamps of varying heights think table lamps, floor lamps and pendants, you create a layered scheme that will excite the eye and highlight different elements of the room. Using side tables to elevate and stacks of books as a styling aid, will add another layer of style.

Create Contrast

Add further intrigue to your living space with your lighting choices through a mixture of materiality. Super textural concrete lamps or shiny mushroom lamps look effortlessly cool but just remember to keep things balanced and curated by reigning in the colour palette.


Lightbulb FAQs

Most Common Questions Answered

1. Should I Use LED Lightbulbs?
The main difference between LED and older light bulbs (incandescent) is their energy efficiency. Incandescent bulbs emit a lot of heat whereas LED bulbs turn 95% of their energy into light and are a huge 80% more efficient so are the preferred money saving option.


2. How Do SMART Lightbulbs Work?
Smart lights have a chip inside them so that they be controlled wirelessly. Every light can connect to an app so you can automate your lights or control them remotely. However, SMART lightbulbs do have a couple of disadvantages, such as a higher cost and reliance on technology.

3. Can You Recycle Lightbulbs?
Yes, energy efficient light bulbs can be recycled at most recycling centres and some stores. Incandescent or halogen bulbs are not recyclable as they contain only a minimal number of recyclable elements within their design which would be considered too time consuming to extract and recycle.

4. Are LED Lightbulbs Dimmable?
Yes LED dimmable lightbulbs are available, although they may not be compatible with your existing/older dimmer switches, they may buzz or flicker.


Abigail Ahern Lighting

Add style, depth and intrigue to every room with luxury lighting. Create ambience and add a beautiful glow with statement lighting like show stopping chandeliers and textural table lamps. Lighting can turn a room around with its magical powers and can enhance your decor by showcasing your sculpture, art and unique pieces as well as highlighting, drawing the eye and making a space look bigger or cosier.

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