Preparing first aid for a lighting plan
To be fair, lighting is often not the first thing you think about when decorating your home. Nevertheless, it is wise to think in advance where you will need lighting. Smart lighting takes some preparation time, but you reap the benefits later.
1: Draw a map
Climb into the pencil and draw a floor plan of the home or specific room. Indicate where furniture is or will be placed. If you want to make the map as realistic as possible, keep a ratio of 1:50. Make sure you leave enough space to add notes if necessary.
You can often request a floor plan from the contractor for a new-build home. If you are in such a situation, you are often free to determine the connection points and any recessed lighting yourself. You can also indicate this on the map and discuss this with the contractor.
2: Decide where to do what
Wonder where you and your roommates watch TV, work from home, relax and eat. Indicate the places where lighting is essential on the floor plan.
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3: Implementation of the lighting plan
So much for the basics. Now filling in can begin. Start with basic lighting, which is essential in any room. It ensures that the entire room is illuminated. Think about how you want to highlight the space and what suits the interior style.
Who knows, the room might be perfect for recessed spotlights (don’t forget the dimmers). It is also possible that this feels too modern and that a mix of hanging, floor and wall lamps comes into its own. Then you determine how you want to operate the lighting and what the costs may be.
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4: Choose practical lighting
By using the practical lighting, in other words the lamps that give you the amount of light that is desired for a certain activity. Draw on the map where you need a reading lamp or desk lamp, among other things.
- Practical home office lighting
Especially now that we often work from home, an adjustable desk lamp is an asset. It is important that there is enough light around your workplace, especially if you are staring at a screen or book for a longer period of time. The amount of light that enters your eyes can increase or even decrease your work performance. Sufficient light stimulates our biological clock and keeps you fresh.
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5: Think of the decorative lighting
The lighting plan is almost complete except for the accent lighting. Who knows, you may have certain photos, paintings or plants that you would like to highlight. According to lighting designer Rienk, spots are ideal for this.
In the case of a painting, you can choose to place a spotlight at the top. Do you have photos with a glass plate in front of it? Then choose two spots that highlight the item from both sides. And don’t forget to draw them on the lighting plan.
In decorative lighting, working with the right type of light is extra important. It is not without reason that you want to highlight object ‘X’ and the colors can come into their own. In this case, choose an LED lamp with a high CRI value. The Color Rendering Index of a lamp indicates how colourfast a light source renders colors. Preferably choose a value above 90, but in any case above 80. The numbers can be found on the packaging of the lamp.
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The basis of the lighting plan is in place, targeted shopping can begin. Be sure to take the floor plan with you to a shop visit and discuss it with an expert. This way you can be sure that you put your home in the sublime spotlight.
Do you have a taste for creating a lighting plan and do you want to know everything about it? Lighting designer Rienk Visser wrote a book about it: “View of light in the house.”
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