The purpose of ambient light is to create a diffused, even light level across a room, and it’s the first place to start when creating a lighting scheme.

’Ambient light’ can refer to a style of lighting scheme, but for our purposes, we’ll be talking about ‘ambient light’ as a direct source. Ambient lighting comes from lights on the ceiling, though sometimes a table or floor lamp can do the trick.

Ambient lighting can be a lone bright light on the ceiling or from a pendant light, or perhaps multiple smaller lights: like track lighting or recessed cans. These smaller lights all work together to create the main light source. They can be aimed in different directions to get into the nooks and crannies of your room. Most overhead lights use incandescent bulbs, which are inexpensive and come in a variety of wattages.

LED bulbs are greener alternatives that cost a little more, but last considerably longer than their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts. The downside is that LED lights have a reputation for casting overly bright and unattractive light, but manufacturers are continually improving their light quality.

Ambient light sources, while practical, need to be complemented with other kinds of lights to avoid a garish look. In the next section, we’ll talk about accent lighting.

Accent lights, considered secondary in a room’s lighting design, are traditionally three to five times brighter than the ambient light level to create visual separation in a room.

Wall-mounted fixtures are a good example of accent lights, as are table and floor lamps. For example, in your dining room, a chandelier would provide the ambient light, and one or more wall sconces would create accent lighting.

Another use of accent lighting is to showcase a feature in a room, such as a painting. You’ve probably seen accent lighting in art museums, where the ambient light is usually dim, which invokes peace and quiet, while the accent lights focus your eyes on the art.

You can create this same dramatic effect in your home. If you have a large plant to showcase, consider placing an accent spotlight on the floor behind it, allowing the light to bounce off its leaves. Typically, a spotlight or floodlight is used to accent an object, though track lights also work in certain applications.

Task lighting provides the primary light in a room and is ideally six to ten times brighter than the ambient light. It’s used to increase illumination above ambient levels at workspaces. Carefully chosen task lighting can minimise the need for overhead lights, which is helpful in conserving energy.

For our renovating ancestors, the term “task lighting” often referred to a lone bright bulb in a utilitarian desk lamp. Now, the options are endless. It’s a key element in a home where proper light is needed for a specific task or project, such as a reading light in the bedroom or a light next to your home phone in the butler's pantry.

There are many different kinds of lights that perform the job of a task light. Under-cabinet down lights or LED strip lights are helpful for kitchen tasks because typically, your shadow gets in the way of the ambient light source from above. LED lights are ideal for task lighting because they’re energy efficient and produce a clean, clear light that renders accurate colours.

When asked to describe their most coveted space, many homeowners are quick to come up with adjectives like ‘light’ and ‘airy’. Natural light is a highly desirable form of light in a home simply because it makes everything look appealing. Lighting schemes that rely on the room’s natural light are called ‘daylighting’. Builders and architects are getting more requests for daylighting than ever before. After all, most of us spend numerous hours working indoors.

Daylighting keeps us connected with the outdoors, and studies have found that people who work in natural light are more productive. There are other benefits to natural light as well, such as savings on electricity.

Daylighting is more detailed than embracing the sun’s rays. Glare can be an issue if the sun shines directly, or even indirectly, into the room. Managing heat and UV exposure is also crucial in Australia, typically best achieved through the use of curtains or shades. Painting a room in a light, reflective colour can help amp up the natural light, and the best ceiling colour to complement the light is the whitest white you can find.