Is poor lighting affecting your lifestyle?

Have you ever stepped into someone's house for the first time in your life and sensed negative vibes, notwithstanding their fancy furniture setup? It can be blamed on the lighting of that particular room you have entered. Subconsciously, the initial feeling of comfort or discomfort and warmth or coldness, of any space, is transmitted to us through lighting.

"Not many people are aware that lighting atmosphere around us possesses the ability to govern our mood, feelings and emotions. Beyond the mental and emotional aspects, lighting also plays a key role in decision-making and influencing crucial facets of our physical well-being, including our vision, appetite, sleep-wake cycle, and so on," explains Prachi Laud, CEO & Founding Partner, Light Doctor).

"At your workplace or home when doing tasks like reading, cooking, or documenting, it is next to impossible to ignore the importance of proper lighting, especially if you need to focus upon fine details like texture and colour of objects. This is exactly where task lighting and accent lighting comes to play, besides the general overhead or ambient lighting," she adds.

Supporting the notion, Hardesh and Monica Chawla, Founders and Principal Designers, Essentia Environments, say that lights not only illuminate a space and add style, but also help you enhance a sense of space, create mood and set an ambience. With one flick of a switch you can change the dynamics of a room.

"Lighting is planned according to the size of the room, for what purpose it is used, and what mood it is expected to evoke. If you want the light to enhance a sense of space, go for walls in lighter shades so that the reflected light creates an illusion of expansiveness."

The experts have a few suggestions that can help you in lighting up the home in the right way. Read on:

Since most rooms serve multiple purposes, it is essential to have layers of lights or a mix of lights on different circuits that can be easily controlled. You can achieve this with a combination overhead lights, mood lights in the ceiling or on the wall, table lamps, floor lamps and task lamps. And dimmer switches are important too, since you don't always need uniform light every where.

For illuminating an entire room, you can either use chandeliers, pendants or suspension lights. But if you're in the habit of reading in your living room, floor lamps or table lamps on the end tables of the sofa or chair are essential.

Ambient lighting can brighten or dim the glow of the rooms. Lanterns and wall sconces are necessary for an effective ambient lighting. With dimmer switches, you can alter the ambiance of the room.

Track lights allow you to light up a certain area or element of the room perfectly. Hung from the ceiling, these adjustable lamps can be focused on artworks, a vase, a statement console, a kitchen island or a bar counter.

Wall lights / wall scones add visual length to a space, and are best for foyers and corridors, and also as bedside lights.

Recessed lights in the ceiling create a cosy vibe. Make sure the bulbs are recessed well back into the ceiling so that harsh light from the bulb is reduced to allow a gentle glow. They are a boon as they do not cast any

shadow.