A key consideration of any home or office remodel or construction is the lighting plan. dental office design is an art all by itself. The way a room is lit can turn a beautiful space into a room with the ambience of a warehouse or an operating room. It’s the same if the project is a rustic log cabin retreat or a interior lighting design. Lighting can enhance or destroy all the considerations of a good interior design plan.

One of the first decisions an interior designer needs to make concerns source lighting. What is the origin of the light, where does it appear, and how does it change. The first problem of designing a room is determining what the major source of light will be. If the space is use mostly during the daylight hours and has adequate windows, then the designer may work with the light source in choosing colors and even the shape of the area. If the room has no windows, or is mostly used at night then a different set of design rules may apply. A room with some windows, and 24 hour accessibility offers up another set of challenges.

Sunlight has a color hue to it that is different from other light sources. Sunlight is blue during the day with warmer tones in the mornings and evenings. Also, the tone will change with the seasons depending on location. Choosing supplies and furnishings can all be improved with color temperature awareness. The blue cast of a midday sun can bring out the blues in the wall. The warm shades of evening and morning can bring out the red hues in paint. Several important questions to ask concerning a room lit primarily by sunlight include the time of day the room is most likely to be used, the nature of the use, the colors of the floor and whether or not there will be supplemental lighting.

A room lit primarily by artificial light has several other issues to take into account. Artificial light comes in different color temperature as well. Fluorescent bulbs have a blue green hue, tungsten light a yellow orange hue. If the room is illuminated by fluorescent lights a shade or tint of color should be choosen that will best work with the greenish cast. Most people have seen a room where fluorescent light has turned the walls into unpleasant garish colors. Thoughtful choice of paint color can minimize this effect and help produce a spance with a daylight feel.

Choosing paint color from paint chips is usually a risky venture. First, a small quantity of color may be very different then an entire space using the same tint. Second, consider the source of light under which the paint chip is being viewed. A lot of paint departments are situated in the middle of a store and lit by fluorescent lights. Take the paint sample, walk it to the window and look at the color in the sunlight. Next, go home with the sample or a small can of paint and put it on the wall. Look at it during the day and also after dark. Change the wall the chip is on. Walls facing different directions reflect different light sources or the same source in a a unique way. Understanding the light is a major part of the design battle.

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