One of the courses that I teach is Lighting Design. Lighting also happens to be one of my areas of concentration in Interior Design.

I love lighting. I have a secret, or not so secret, obsession with lamps and light fixtures…so it really is…all about lighting. I have a whole closet of lamps to prove it.

Anyway…to the point.

The quickest lessons that I can give in lighting, as I was stressing these the other day in class, are the color of light and the layers of light.

Remember these two concepts and you can do as I have, change nothing in a room except for the lighting, and completely transform the room. You can totally alter the mood or feel of a space simply by “changing the bulbs”.

Woops!…There it is….the oldest secret in the book…pink bulbs make anyone “pretty”. The color accents and warms skin tones and therefore “warms” the tone of a room, regardless of what else is going on.

That leads me to lesson #1…

First, if a lamp (or “light bulb”) does not emit a color (every color is associated with a particular wavelength) or enough of it, then it cannot reflect to the eye what it doesn’t emit from the lamp (bulb). The longer the wavelength, the more visible and warm the color is.

Without a full lesson on this, just remember that this is the reason that everyone looks great in warm toned or pink light….it’s reflecting what is being emitted from the light source. If you’re 80, use pink.

Likewise, who hasn’t screamed in horrific realization when they’ve caught a glimpse of themselves in a mirror at the grocery store at night…argh! They use cool white fluorescent bulbs….very small to none in the level of red emitted from a cool white fluorescent bulb.

All of this will make perfect sense the first time you pick out the purrrrfect fabric in a fabric store and then get it home and it looks really horrendous….it’s all about the lighting. So always, make sure that you see the fabric, color or anything in the light that you will be using it in at home.

And unless you live outdoors, please don’t bring it to the store window to check it out and think, “we’re good!”

Hint: Always get a sample or better yet, buy a yard and bring it home and look at it in the several lighting levels and qualities that you will be using the fabric in.

Second Lesson in Lighting….Layers!!

To create that wonderful ambiance and mood that you saw in the quaint little inn years ago or in the mega-lobby in Vegas…remember that lighting has layers.

Start with Ambient lighting. That’s the background light. The all-over light. For example, it’s the recessed light that is on the ceiling or the wall sconces that line the hallway… Background but non-specific…the ceiling lights in the kitchen for another example. I call this The Foundation.

Next layer is Task lighting. This would be layer number 2. This is the specific light that is for a particular task in the room. For example, the under cabinet lights in a kitchen that shine on the countertop or the bathroom lighting around the mirror or the reading lamps beside the bed. I call this the eyeliner and Lipstick.

Lastly, we use Accent or Decorative lighting. This is what I refer to as the Jewelry. It is designed to accent or decorate a particular item, function or feature of a room. For example, the Art lighting, the chandelier, the interior lights in the glass door cabinet.