Walk into a dark room and turn on a light. The illumination spreads across the walls and tables. Darkness retreats and the room takes on a new ambiance. Lighting create remarkable nuances in the feel of a room. Pendant lighting and Vaxcel lighting can provide a certain elegance and focus the light in a room. Whether we are doing light design for a room or attempting to bring light to aspects of our lives the fundamentals remain the same.

First and foremost, shadows are not the enemy. The goal of lighting a room is not to dispel all shadows, but to shape the light, to create highlights, lowlights, and areas of focus. If a room is blasted with light removing all shadows, the space becomes uncomfortable and unfocused. Good lighting design can make a small room feel larger and larger rooms feel quaint. By highlighting certain areas the eye is led and washed in the images that the designer prefers. The flat unattractive wall can be shaped with shadows to create depth and texture. The light can be directed onto the best features of the room whether it is the art on the wall or the plants by the couch. Every space has its positive areas and difficult spots that can be used to the best advantage. Many times it is the very design obstacle that a room presents that creates the most innovative solutions and helps create a more interesting space.

In our daily lives we are similar to a room that needs to be lit. Every one on earth has strengths and weaknesses. Our biggest mistake is that we think our flaws need to be hidden. If we design our life like we might light a room we will quickly realize the first thing we need to do is to figure out what the center of focus is going to be and what other elements of our lives need to be lit up. If we throw all of our energy on all aspects of our lives it will be like lighting a room to leave no shadows. There will be no perspective or attention to detail. The whole room or life will seem washed out and cold.

A good lighting design isn’t about removing all imperfections of a room or hiding them. A good plan is about incorporating them into the room, using a dark spot for contrast, or turning a giant flat space into something captivating. In our everyday existence there are a hundred possible points of focus. Throwing our energy, our light, onto the most important areas helps define our values, our goals and how we spend our time. In our sample room light demands energy. Energy is required for us to live. The places we focus demands energy. If we try to place energy into every aspect of our daily world, the emotional cost could be dramatic.

Plan a lighting design for your day to day experience. Decide what is important, where you want to invest your effort and what can take less of your focus. Walk into a well lit room and take clues about focusing attention.