Some Tips for Using LED Lights Better-----Layering Light

‘Layering’ may seem an unusual term to use in relation to lighting, but, in the same way as an interior designer builds up layers of colour, texture and finishes to achieve the final scheme, a lighting designer plays with a combination of different lighting effects, selecting each one to fulfil a practical need or to create a specific visual impact and different play of light and shadow.

Good layering is built up of many different light effects, each introduced at different levels or positions. For example, if there is a pendant in the room at one level, try to introduce an uplight or a low-level floor washer and mid-level light, which could be a wall light, a lit bookshelf or lit picture. Make sure that each of these types of light can be controlled independently, so that different moods can easily be achieved by altering their intension.
Layers of light are built up by considering the different types of background lighting, task lighting and feature lighting. Decide on the effects you would like to employ to produce these – wall washing, floor washing, downlighting, uplighting, for instance – and use them in different proportions and intensities depending on the balance required in the room. Bear in mind that in one situation the light effect may be a background light, but used with a different source it can provide a more direct light and become an accent light. For example:

1. Light should be introduced from different directions. If the general lighting is uplighting, providing a soft diffuse effect reflecting light off the ceiling, try to use a specific downlight for the accent light, whether this is focusing on a table or piece of art. Then use a localized lamp to add a soft infill light at mid level.
2. Another contrasting solution would be to use recessed down lights for a wall-washing effect to create reflected light off the walls as background light, then to add recessed narrow-beam uplights to pick out some of the features and provide accent lighting. In the instance, with the majority of the lighting focused around the walls, a chandelier or narrow-beam downlight could be used to create a central focus.
3. If the background lighting in a room is provided by freestanding decorative lamps, then the feature lighting may be a combination of narrow-beam uplights used to define architectural features and low-voltage down lights to highlight pictures or create a focus in the centre of the room.