What is mood lighting, how has it evolved and how do you create an ambience through lighting? AboutUs investigates.
Mood lighting is frequently the missing ingredient in an otherwise well-decorated space. Experimenting with different lighting tones, colours and levels of brightness can be the easiest way of creating a particular atmosphere or ambience.
Why use mood lighting?
Eva Hammerson, head of design for distinguished lighting brand Kandabi, says: “Mood lighting is all about injecting extra character, visual drama, a sense of calmness and relaxation, or an element of frivolity and fun into a space.”
In Hammerson’s view, well-planned lighting has “enormous power” to create any desired atmosphere. It can set a very specific tone, which physical design alone would struggle to achieve. Further to this, the right lighting can “induce a state of mind, or in other words put us in a specific mood”, she adds.
“Go no further than Alfred Hitchcock, the iconic English filmmaker and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genre and who used lighting artistry to instil a given mood in his audience to great effect.”
How to get the mood-lit look
You don’t need to spend a fortune rewiring the house to create a particular atmosphere through lighting. While dimmer switches are the most obvious way of altering your lighting to obtain a more romantic or relaxed vibe, an easy alternative is available in the form of side lamps or experimenting with light bulbs. Here are a few pointers:
• Lampshades can create diverse effects: opaque ones will channel the light purely above and below the shade, while shades made from a thinner material will create a softer, more even glow.
• Generally speaking, the darker the colour of the lampshade, the darker the lighting will be.
• Play with the positioning of your lights to create interest and highlight particular objects/areas of the room. Placing lights on a variety of levels will cast interesting shadows and really stimulate people’s senses upon entering the room.
• When choosing your light fitting, think about the different effects that can be created by texture – glass, for example, will create interesting reflections on surrounding surfaces.
• Choose your bulb wattage according to how bright, or dim, you want the effect to be.
• When it comes to lighting, ‘white’ can cover a multitude of sins: halogen and LED bulbs can give a much brighter, almost bluer, colour, while frosted or pearl bulbs will give more of a traditional, yellow-y warmth.
• At the more extreme end of the colour spectrum, brightly coloured bulbs can achieve instant impact – but be careful with how and where you employ them; you don’t want your living room to end up looking like a brothel.
• If you’re entertaining in the kitchen, make the most of track lighting if you’ve got it fitted under your units – it’s an oft-overlooked mood lighting tool.
• Don’t forget about the humble candle – the original mood lighter. While candles have traditionally been used to create a sense of romance, they’re no less effective at dinner parties. Just don’t let the wine cause you to forget to blow them out at the end of the evening…
Modern mood lighting
While the concept of mood lighting has been around for generations, what is new, explains Hammerson, is the creative application of modern technologies like LED lighting. According to the expert, LEDs in home interior lighting are “set to become the norm in the next decade” and will eventually replace all conventional options.
Often used to brilliant effect in commercial settings, such as restaurants, hotels and designer boutiques, LED mood lighting is gradually making its way from trendy bars to the contemporary kitchen and living room.
