Interior experts continuously hammer home the importance of lighting—and for good reason! The right lighting is essential to creating a comfortable, lived-in ambiance. Lighting typically falls into three buckets: ambient lighting, which provides an overall radiance to a space, task lighting, which is composed of pieces like floor lamps that dispel bright, focused illumination, and accent lighting. If you’re wondering what the final bucket, accent lighting, is composed of, you’re not alone! Compared to ambient and task lighting, accent lighting is often overlooked. Ahead, we shed light on the importance of accent lighting and explore ways to incorporate its dramatic flair into any room.
What is Accent Lighting?
Designers eternally advocate for layered lighting. Glow-y ambient lighting in the form of ceiling or wall-mounted downlights provides widespread illumination. While obviously essential, ambient-producing fixtures don’t cast very focused light. To combat the shade, task lighting is integrated. Task lighting provides a focused spotlight for—you guessed it!—completing tasks. Reading lamps, desk lamps, pendants, and under-cabinet lights are all popular forms of task lighting.
Generally, accent lighting is considered the final layer of a room’s lighting scheme. Accent lighting provides a decorative touch, lending a space polish and refinement. In addition to providing atmosphere and warmth, accent lighting draws attention to specific focal points in a room, such as statement pieces, architectural features, or sentimental curios. Think of lighting that illuminates artwork in a museum—dramatic, attention-grabbing, and carefully planned.
What are some types of accent lighting?
Some examples of accent lighting include:
- Table lamps
- Chandeliers
- Wall sconces
- Pendants
- Recessed lighting: fixtures installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling
- Track lighting: individual lights connected by a track or bar
- Hidden fixtures: lights that are concealed behind a mirror or beneath cabinets
- Up lights
- Candlelight
All of these fixtures do the job of accent lighting by creating focal points and dimension. When positioned strategically, they also draw attention to a room’s best features.
How to Choose Accent Lighting
1. Identify Features of Your Home You’d like to Highlight
Have a congregation of framed family photos that you’d like to highlight? Look for a table lamp that will halo your heirlooms with light. Proud of your dining room set up? Emphasize it with a chandelier hung above your dining table. Fell in love with your fireplace at first sight? Install wall-mounted fixtures on each side of your mantel to bathe it in a cozy glow. Whether it’s a collected art piece or a packed bookshelf, spotlight your favorite features of your home with accent lighting. Just make sure that you place your lighting high enough above your focal point to avoid overpowering it.
2. Brighten Up Dark Spots
While ambient and task lighting can flush an area with light, there may be areas in a room that still feel too shaded. Namely, walls and corners that aren’t within the light-throwing radius of overhead fixtures. Brighten up those dim areas with a strategically-placed wall sconce or table lamp. By strategically layering lighting, you not only create uniform illumination, but you also give yourself options. Turn off your overhead and task lighting and let accent lighting work on its own. When wall sconces, table lamps, and candlelight are the only sources of light in a room, the result is a soft luminosity, perfect for lazy nights.
3. Fill Up Empty Space
While negative space is a must in any balanced interior design, bare walls can feel stark. One solve? Accent lighting! Stylish wall sconces will work double-duty, providing light and effectively filling up vacant vertical space. As a bonus, accent lighting can help make a room appear both larger and fuller. Often overlooked, ceilings can also be effectively utilized for lighting. Line recessed lighting along a ceiling cove to draw the eye upward. Flush mounts, pendants, or chandeliers will not only emphasize your fifth wall but will also help frame it and create the illusion of more space.
4. Look for Hiding Spots
Nothing speaks to the versatility of accent lighting like hidden fixtures. Backlighting, which is essentially light fixtures installed behind objects, conjures the illusion of depth. Accent lighting installed behind cabinets or screens, beneath furniture, or studded along a staircase can work wonders toward creating an enchanting mood. Where else might you consider hidden fixtures? Accent lighting installed underneath a kitchen island can add pizzazz, while fixtures located behind a vanity mirror will lend drama to any bathroom. Want to recreate a movie theater in your den or basement? Install LED tape light under your sofa to magician a theatrical atmosphere.
Your Cheatsheet to Using Accent Lighting…
- There are three main types of lighting: ambient, task, and accent lighting.
- Accent lighting provides atmosphere and draws attention to focal points in a room.
- Some examples of accent lighting include table lamps, chandeliers, wall sconces, pendants, recessed lighting, and candlelight.
- To implement accent lighting in your home, identify features of your home you’d like to emphasize, such as architectural features.
- Identify spots in your home that could use more illumination and incorporate a table lamp or wall sconce.
- Fill bare walls and ceiling space with recessed lighting or wall sconces.
- Add LED track lighting or hidden fixtures behind cabinets or underneath furniture to curate depth and drama.
