4 Lighting Design Tips for Your Okanagan Luxury Home

What if you could turn any room into an entertainer’s dream? Lighting design has the power to transform your custom home with the press of a button or flick of a switch.

Thoughtful lighting design affects the way your space is perceived and elevates the luxury look of your dream house. When done well, it casts a flattering light on your most valuable works of art, gives just the right ambience for hosting wine nights and can make your space feel even more expansive.

But how do you choose the right lighting when working with a Kelowna custom designer-builder? Here are four tips to elevate the interior of your home with thoughtful lighting design.

1. Learn the Different Types of Lighting

The first step to elevating your lighting design is to understand the three main types of light:

• Ambient: Also known as general lighting, ambient light is the most basic type of lighting found in nearly every room. Its purpose is simple: fill the space with light. Whether they’re recessed lights or a flush mount fixture, ambient lighting is typically overhead and directional. It excels at brightening up your entire space, but it casts harsh shadows and is the least flattering type of light.

• Task: Sometimes called work lighting, task lights illuminate a space for a specific purpose. In newer kitchens, you’ll often find task lighting underneath cabinets to aid in food prep. In an office, a lamp provides targeted light that helps you read or work on the computer.

• Accent: While task lighting focuses on utility, accent lighting focuses on beauty. Accent lighting can be the focal point of the room itself or used to highlight artwork or specific design features. Whether it’s overhead lights on a dimmer switch, ornate wall sconces or a delicate chandelier above the dining room table, accent lighting is soft, warm and flattering.

2. Layer Your Lighting

Having only ambient lighting can make a room feel sterile. With nothing but task lighting, you’ll have small pockets of radiant light and nothing but vast swaths of darkness in between. Using only accent lights may set the perfect mood for movie night at home but will leave you struggling to perform day-to-day tasks like cooking and cleaning.

So, what’s the solution? Combine all three types of light in each room. When you’re strategic at the build stage about what types of light sources you include in your space and understand their strengths and how they work together, you unlock the benefits of each type of lighting and leave their downfalls in the dark.

3. Design One Room at a Time

When you work with a designer-builder to create a luxury home, each room is unique and deserves to be shown in the best possible light.

While each room will be different, there are general lighting design recommendations to consider:

• Foyer: First impressions are everything. Use light as your focal point to draw people into your home. A one-of-a-kind chandelier, for example, provides a warm and inviting glow, while a task light may help your guests enter and remove their shoes safely.

• Living Room: Lighting in your living room should be versatile. One day, you might need a bright space to spend time with your family, while another day you want to lay on the couch and watch TV. By layering ambient, task and accent lighting, you can create a combination that’s flexible enough to meet your needs.

• Bedrooms: From Sunday morning sleep-ins to unwinding before bed, we spend a lot of time in our bedrooms. As our sanctuary of slumber and relaxation, lighting in your bedroom is critical. Take the bedside lamp to the next level with a wall-mounted light and make sure your overhead lights are on a dimmer switch. Lastly, consider indirect lighting behind your headboard to add to the ambiance.

• Kitchen: The kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s where you spend time with your family and friends at the end of the day and where the party starts and ends. Use ambient lighting to make your kitchen look clean and inviting, while under-cabinet task lights cast a much-needed light on food prep. If you have a built-in wine rack, an accent light will give it the attention it deserves.

• Dining Room: The chandelier or above-table lighting is the most important consideration when lighting your dining room. Work with your designer-builder to choose a fixture that fits your style and install a dimmer switch for romantic date nights. Add flair with wall sconces or table lamps for task lighting.

4. Choose the Right Tech

Now that you have all the right light, you need a way to use it. High-end smart lighting systems give you the control you crave. Operated wirelessly through a remote, voice commands or your smartphone, smart lighting systems are a convenient and energy-efficient way to manage the light in your luxury Okanagan home.

Want to learn more about next-level lighting and luxury design? Whether you want to build your home from scratch or explore our semi-custom plans, we’re here to help. Contact us online or call (778) 940-7803 to get started.