Feature lighting can be used to highlight chosen features in a room, whilst hiding less significant details.

Feature lighting

Home Lighting
Feature lighting works best when the light source itself remains hidden: your eye is naturally drawn to the brightest point within a room, and if the bulb or fitting were visible this would be the focus. A recessed fitting which spotlights a picture or a narrow-beam works well. Low-voltage, miniature directional sources are the most versatile solution. You need to pay special attention to the position of the fittings and use the right beam width for the object being lit. To highlight a wall-mounted feature, the lighting should be positioned between the viewer and the wall.

Colour lighting

Rather than coloured filters or a lamp as in photography, 'colour' for the lighting designer is the selection of a light source to emphasize the true colour of what is being lit. Different light sources have different colour temperatures. For example, a standard GLS (tungsten) bulb, a fluorescent and a low-voltage halogen bulb each give out a very different light that is dependent on the colour temperature. The easily-recognisable tungsten bulb has a soft, yellow light, which is warm and inviting at night, but can seem dull in the daytime. The crisp whiteness of halogen light, on the other hand, is far better when used in dark areas during the day, as it is more compatible with daylight. At night, though, it can seem cool, but when dimmed will achieve the same warmth as the standard GLS source.

A fluorescent lighting source can be either cool or warm in colour depending on the fixture selected. When buying lights, look for the particular code written on the packaging, which gives the colour temperature. Different light sources can be combined within a scheme if they are controlled separately.
Having set the scene with the general and task lighting, drama and contrast can be introduced through feature lighting. Some of the choices you will have made for your overall lighting scheme may offer some feature lighting, but additional effects will add focus to chosen objects or specific areas of the room. Flowers on a coffee or dining table can, for instance, be illuminated with a narrow beam of light, which will bring out the best in the flowers and create a central focal point in the room, making it appear more intimate.

Highlighting the architectural features of a room, for example large open fireplace or an arched doorway, can create drama. In a room with columns, you can achieve stunning effects with lights recessed into the floor and positioned close to the column bases, as the light will graze up the side and produce a dramatic focus at the top.

The illumination of an alcove, shelves or cabinet can be another form of focus and feature in a room. The easiest method of lighting shelves is to use a tungsten striplight behind a baffle, which conceals the source. There are, however, two disadvantages with this method: the bulky size of the fitting requires large shelf sizes to conceal the source, and the linear filament is delicate and frequently 'blows'. An alternative solution is to use candle bulbs, and although several individual bulbs are required, they are cheaper than a single tungsten strip and last much longer. Low-voltage shelf systems, however, usually achieve the best results. They are smaller than the linear filament bulbs and therefore can be concealed within slimmer shelves. They normally consist of a small track system, or clickstrip, so that bulbs can either be arranged uniformly along the length of a shelf or in clusters to light specific objects. They do require a remote transformer and can get quite hot, so they should not be used near books. To light a bookshelf effectively, a simple mains-voltage rope-light can be used, as it offers a soft light, is fairly small, has a long lamp life and does not get too hot.

Three-dimensional objects, like pieces of sculpture, offer the greatest canvas for dramatic schemes. When any object is lit, the most important factors are the direction of light and the play between light and shadow, as distortions can result if the proportions and placing are not right. You also need to take into account the position from which the object will be viewed. Depending on the shape of the sculpture or ornament, and features within it that you wish to highlight, you can choose whether it should be uplit, downlit or backlit. If you want to install your lights before the piece to be lit has been chosen, cross light will be the safest option, as it allows you to throw light from both sides.