What your electrician and lighting retailer won’t tell you.
Do you feel frustrated that the lighting in your home lacks atmosphere? Do you put up with daily discomfort and irritation because the lighting around your home is too glarey or inadequate? Does it disappoint you that customers come into your store, make a bee-line for product on the shelves and march right out without lingering to browse? We hope you find this interesting.
Have you completed a new build or renovation recently or are you about to? Thinking that you had the lighting covered by those constructing your home and still don’t understand why creative lighting hasn’t been achieved, your lighting plan is probably inadequate. Where will you be in 5 years time if this isn’t rectified? Still suffering from glare, headaches, irritation or overstimulation at the wrong time of day adding to sleeplessness? Wrestling with poorly lit environments when we’re trying to do daily tasks painfully adds to the tension in our already fraught lives. Our environments have become more highly wired; you deserve working and living spaces that work for your health and comfort.
Don’t be fooled that energy-saving ceiling recessed downlights and the odd interesting pendant has created the environment you need.
1. Excellent lighting should be incorporated at the beginning of the design project to achieve twinkling textures and sparkling reflectance that illuminates spaces without glare.
2. Pendants over kitchen benches are primarily direction finders within the open plan spaces we all love. To minimise shadow, create adequate luminance and reduce glare lighting must be carefully strategized beyond the shape and colour of pendants.
3. Great lighting needs to illuminate the objects that we are looking at, displaying them with the best possible colour, without shining into and damaging our eyes. Uplights and sidelights on walls & ceilings, illuminates surface texture, creating highlights reflected ambient glows.
4. Relatively low levels of ambient light are good for us and with which we are able to negotiate our way through space. Recessed Low Energy Diode lights create moderate to high ambient lighting yet many also contribute to energy loss and wastage. Therefore downlights must be carefully chosen to save money and energy.
5. Our bodily rhythms regulate hormones and daily wakeful activity- the circadian cycle. Beyond managing nightly exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and blue light from our devices we also need to regulate late-night exposure to broad-scale lighting.
With our modern lifestyles being far removed from natural rhythms and environments, unlike our predecessors, we hanker for calming interiors conducive to thought, work, creativity and rest.
According to the white paper on Light Spectrum and its Effect on Wellness and Productivity in the Workplace, “ Artificial illumination can thoroughly disrupt our circadian rhythms by exposing us to blue light at all hours of the day and not just from light bulbs. ….. That’s what psychologists Anna Steidel and Lioba Werth discovered when they assessed the effects of light intensity on creative insight. According to their findings, on average people exhibit a greater aptitude for solving creative problems working under relatively dim light (150 lux) than in a typical office (500 lux) or a highly illuminated setting, like a Television studio (1500 lux). Steidel theorises that bright lights give people the impression they’re under surveillance.”
(Bright Green TM: Light Spectrum and its effects on Wellness and Productivity in the workplace, Ch2, a) pp5-6.)
Without the right lighting, your project could leave you feeling dispirited and underwhelmed. At Agius Colour & Interior Design (A Colour ID) we are really interested in creating wonderful lighting experiences for you. We are able to work with specialist lighting designer-distributors to incorporate professional knowledge for exquisite lighting outcomes. “Lighting for People (2016) created an infographic on how Human Centric lighting affect human health and wellbeing which illustrated the need for the right light for our activities….(this type of) lighting increases vision and performance of people with a 4.5% increase in productivity,( and a ) -1 decrease in errors and absences.” (2)
Here at A Colour ID, we’re skilled at creating environments for our client’s health and enjoyment. One of our clients, Elizabeth wrote, “I wanted to change the back section of our house to create more glass/light, a more modern look with custom joinery, a new gas heating system to warm the whole house and more storage. It was a difficult brief but Serena helped create detailed plans, get plans through council, find a builder (not easy in the current environment), selection of colours/materials, advise on artwork etc. Serena has a very positive approach to helping us solve problems.”
Have a look at other responses to our work here on Testimonials. Coloured lighting is also a trend for 2019 and beyond.
Put your details into our contact form and let us know how we can help you with your renovation lighting decisions or commercial fit-out. No matter the scale, we’ll take a look.
Find more information on the Services page.
I'd love to hear your comments about this blog post and if you've put any of these tips into action.