In room lighting, a distinction is made between ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. Only the interplay of light sources from all three types of lighting creates a lighting concept that is as functional as it is aesthetic and that does justice to people in every respect. The three components of the lighting concept complement each other to form a coherent whole that, in addition to the basic brightness, creates several zones of light at differing brightness that ensure a lively spatial structure.
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Ambient Lighting, Task Lighting and Accent Lighting are the three basic components of lighting concepts: this is how you effectively supplement ambient lighting.
Ambient Lighting © LI CHAOSHU/Shutterstock.com
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is an area's general lighting. It is the first thing to be switched on when you enter a dark room. Ambient lighting provides evenly distributed brightness to give orientation in the dark. General lighting often comes from a centrally mounted ceiling light, although ensembles of smaller recessed ceiling lights are also an established variant. Especially in rooms with many nooks and crannies, track and wire systems on which several movable spotlights can be mounted have also proved their worth.
Task Lighting © Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
Task Lighting
Individual room areas or spaces can be illuminated with attractive task lighting. Classic examples of task lighting are pendant lights above the dining table and the floor lamp in the reading corner. The desk table lamp, in whose light important work is performed and which needs to support the eye in demanding visual tasks, is another variant of zone lighting that can be found in almost every household. Wall lights are also tailor-made for effective task lighting.
Accent Lighting © Lukasz Stefanski/Shutterstock.com
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is often understood to mean purely decorative lighting that serves less to provide brightness than to create an atmospheric ambience, for example in the form of candlesticks. Sometimes, however, it also refers to targeted beams of light on individual works of art or furniture, e.g. picture frame lights or products being lit from individual spotlights, so that the boundaries of task lighting are not always clear-cut. Another term for discreet and decorative lighting, often used in connection with colourful LED lights, is effect lighting.