You saw our post yesterday on the different types of lighting, now it is time to consider how those different types fit into your home’s design. According to Greg Yaghsezian of Hirshfield’s Design Resource, lighting sets the attitude for a room. You can have a beautifully designed room, but without the proper lighting you won’t be doing it justice.

First off, you need to make sure you have adequate lighting to properly use your space. A kitchen, for example, will require a good source of general lighting as well as task lighting, whereas a family room leaves you more room for accent and decorative lighting.

Secondly, you need to make sure your paint color and lighting play well together. The type of light under which color is viewed can make a huge difference in how we perceive the color.

Consider the amount of natural light your space gets. Natural sunlight maintains a neutral balance between both the warm (yellow cast) and cool (blue cast) ends of the light spectrum, providing you with the truest rendition of color.

Artificial light also affects color. Under incandescent and halogen lights reds and yellows are enhanced, but under the cool cast of fluorescent lights blues and greens are brought out.

Overall, lighting affects just about every aspect of a room’s design; from how you use it to how you view it. Greg recommends starting with lighting when you are building, remodeling or redecorating as it can pave the way for the rest of the design.