Accent Lighting: Shine A Light On Your Treasures

Perfect Picture Lights

You took great care to select the images that are framed and hung on your walls. The precious family portraits and scenes from an unforgettable trip capture your family history. The prints or reproductions of your favourite paintings and the original work you found in a gallery saleroom are statements about your personal taste.

Task Lighting

When we were children, most of us had a reading lamp on our headboard or beside our bed. That was probably our first experience of task lighting. In various areas of our home or at the office, it helps us to do specific jobs, such as cooking, sewing or reading.

Tracks and downlights, vanity mirror lights and spotlights, or lights fixed under cabinets, are strategically placed to illuminate work areas. In the kitchen, some people select island bench lighting for its decorative features, but pendants are extremely effective task lights too. Just choose well and hang correctly!

Task lighting looks best in combination with the right ambient light. A lamp might produce too much glare if the room is dark or not adequately lit. This can cause unnecessary strain on the eyes.

You want to select the perfect lighting for a painting or photograph with exactly the same care. With a range of picture lights available, it’s easy to find a design that complements the tone you have set in your home.

You can choose from a range of styles – Traditional, Art Deco or Modern. You are no longer restricted to picture lights that are attached to the frames of large artworks. Some designs are mounted on the wall, above the frame. Some extend outwards with adjustable swivelling shades that direct light back towards the picture, and are versatile enough to adapt to different paintings, should you alter your display.

Many people prefer to avoid picture lights that are attached to the wall because of the difficulty of wiring. Mostly, though, they want the focus to remain on the art itself, so they choose an appropriate light source installed in the ceiling.

Regardless of the style, the ideal picture lights are low profile – designed to match the surrounding decor but never distract from the pieces they accentuate.

The advanced functionality of modern accent lighting means you can also vary the intensity of light falling on the artwork, to balance the effect against the ambient lighting in the room at any given time.

How To Light Up Ornaments

Ornamental pieces, such as sculpture, figurines or personally meaningful collection of objects add to the atmosphere in any room. You can light up ornaments specifically to draw attention to them or to create focal points around your home. The right lighting choice will highlight the items you have decided should take centre stage.

Imagine how accent lighting will enhance the burnished glow of your prized bronze statuette. Or how a perfectly placed spotlight will awaken the coloured heart of your sparkling Lalique crystal.

Consider dimmable spotlighting that can alter the perception and mood whenever you wish. You can create the effect you want with an LED wall or ceiling mounted spotlight or a versatile track light that you can adjust when you give different items in the room their ‘time to shine’.  Accent lighting is available in a range of colours and styles to match your decor.

A Few Practical Points

 Make sure your accent lighting is appropriate for the type of image you are highlighting. For example, because of the characteristic textural finish, the best lighting for a painting done in oils is a broad-based light source. LED is ideal, and is a suitable choice for any artwork. Halogen creates heat, and fluorescent lighting can cause fading ­– both potentially damaging to your pictures.

The smaller the artworks, the more subtle the design of the picture lights should be; they should never overpower the frame.
A picture light should be between two-thirds and three-quarters of the width of the artwork. This creates the best effect, without extending the highlight beyond the picture frame.

Accent lighting for pictures, or for ornaments, should generally be brighter than the ambient light, but not so bright as to ‘wash out’ the colours and contrasts of the pieces.

Your home is your pride and your retreat. Accent lighting will show your home’s most treasured possessions at their very finest.