Update light fittings to transform the mood of a room without spending a fortune.

A good lighting scheme not only serves a vital, practical need but it can also help establish the purpose of the room, enhance colours and highlight a room’s strong points. Cleverly planned lighting can also conceal objects and areas with which you’re less satisfied.

‘When you’re doing major renovations, plan the lighting as early as you can,’ says Sarah Beeny. ‘If you’re redoing the lighting in an existing room, make a scale drawing showing natural light sources and fittings such as fireplaces and doors. Then think hard about how you want to use the space. Will you be reading or watching television, socialising or working there? Is the room used mostly during daylight or at night? Where will you sit, and where are the entry points and high traffic areas in the room? Are there any specific artworks or pieces of furniture you want to highlight?

‘Then you can get down to designing the kind of lighting you want. Think about the level of diffuse background light that will make the space comfortable. Plan accent lighting to create areas of focus and shade; task lighting without glare for close work areas and reading, and spotlighting for features. Mark the lighting with directional arrows on the plan to create an interplay of darker and lighter areas, with the lighting sources at different heights to give added interest. Then plan where the switches will be fitted – definitely near the door, but perhaps also where you sit and read.’

An eco-friendly approach to lighting
Energy-efficient (EE) bulbs, also known as compact fluorescent
bulbs, use a fifth of the energy of incandescent bulbs, so are better both for the environment and for your pocket. They also last longer; around six years on average. As they are fluorescent, they can take a few minutes to reach full capacity and some flicker when used with dimmer switches. They give out a cold, blue- tinged light and, although you can get ‘warm’ tones, these are less energy efficient. EE bulbs also contain mercury so need to be recycled carefully. ‘Old-fashioned tungsten bulbs are being phased out over the next few years and, by 2011, we’ll be using energy-efficient bulbs and other light sources’, says Sarah.

Fibre-optic lighting emits coloured light along optical fibres. It is cool to the touch and can safely be used in bathrooms and swimming pools. It is excellent for creating mood – you can now buy fibre optic chandeliers. Halogen bulbs are less eco-friendly than EE bulbs but are 10–15% more efficient and much longer-lasting than incandescent tungsten bulbs. They are very compact in size, and can be used with dimmer switches. They give a light most like daylight: cold, crisp and strong.

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are the most eco-friendly and long-lasting, but are currently only available in low-power versions which don’t give out bright light. They are good for accent and mood lighting, for garden lighting, and also in children’s bedrooms because they emit hardly any heat and come in a variety of colours including red and blue.

1 Ambient lighting
This is the background lighting that brightens an entire area, and acts as a replacement for natural sunlight. A central pendant light usually provides ambient lighting, but this can sometimes be rather harsh and uninspiring. To soften its effect, use low-wattage bulbs or dimmer switches. Wall lights are also a form of ambient lighting.

2 Accent lighting
Usually for decorative purposes, accent lighting highlights a particular feature or item, such as ceiling beams or a picture on the wall. It gives texture, focus and shape to general lighting, with added depth and shade. Examples include tracks, table lamps, halogen, downlighters, uplighters and spotlights. You may want to highlight…Books: Clip a spotlight on the underside of the shelf or put wall washers into the ceiling.

Pictures and paintings:
To avoid glare and give an even distribution of light, use an eyeball light that can swivel, and set it to flood (a broad beam). You could also mount an adjustable spotlight on a ceiling track and direct it at a focal point in the painting.

Plants: Check whether the plant likes sunlight or needs to be kept out of it. For a large pot plant, put an uplighter or a spotlight recessed into the floor behind it. The light will bounce off the floor and ceiling and diffuse back into the plant foliage to create unusual shadows.

3 Task lighting
This is used to illuminate an area for a particular task such as cooking, reading or studying. As this light is more focused than background light, it should be bright enough to work by. Look out for lamps that allow you to adjust both the height and angle of the light for optimum effect. Low-energy lighting specialist, tp24 (www.tp24.com), provides affordable, eco-friendly lighting and, with a choice of more than 300 products, there’s something to suit all budgets and all rooms in the house to provide ambient, accent or task lighting.

Light up your home

Hallway: This busy area needs to be well-lit and welcoming. A combination of wall and ceiling lights works well with wall lights illuminating a dark corridor and showing the way to the stairs.

Living room: A mix of all three light types is ideal, as living rooms serve many purposes. Try different bulbs, and fit dimmer switches so you can lower the light as and when required, to create a more relaxing space.

Bedroom: This is one lighting zone where you can go to town – there are even stunning bedheads with integral lighting which are a feature in themselves! But bear in mind that the bedroom is a place for relaxation and sleep, so avoid too much light or glare from too many downlights. Instead, go for layers of light, highlighting alcoves, backlighting sandblasted glass wardrobes or washing light on to a feature wall away from the bed. You need focused task lighting at a dressing table, so ensure that this is on a separate switch. A dimmer switch is crucial for mood lighting, as are individual switches for bedside lamps. You can even get a voice-activated light switch so you can tell your lights to switch on or off without getting out of bed.

Bathroom: You need two kinds of lighting in a bathroom: bright focused light near mirrors and a gentle, relaxed light for bathing. Lots of bathroom cupboards and mirrors now come with integral lighting so all you may need is a dimmer switch for the central light. Fibre optics are practical and safe around water and can look striking sunk into flooring. You can also fix phased, interchangeable colour versions above a shower to suit your mood. Safety is the primary issue in a bathroom and all electric fittings need to be double insulated and encased to avoid electric shocks, with light switches outside or on a pull cord.

Kitchen: You need bright light, especially around work surfaces, sinks, ovens and hobs. Build in as many integral lights as possible, for example into cooker hoods and under wall cupboard units. Mini-fluorescent strips don’t get hot and send a diffuse, warm light on to surfaces below, but make sure it’s below eye level to avoid glare. While not exactly cutting-edge, recessed downlights are practical for low ceilings. Directional lighting on tracks or wire is more flexible, or think about hanging two or three small pendant lights to give a diffuse but reasonably bright glow over the whole area. If you have open shelving or glass-fronted display cupboards, make a feature by backlighting them. You can also get a bright but diffuse glow by putting fluorescent strips above wall-mounted units so that light bounces down off the ceiling.

Pictures: getty images