Decorating and redesigning your client’s home interior is not only about placing the right furniture or giving the walls and floors an elegant finish. You may spend loads of your client’s money on these things, but the finished interior could be a little lacklustre without well thought out lighting elements.

Good lighting, when matched strategically with furniture, upholstery, and finishes, can significantly enhance the beauty of your interiors. While in the past selecting lighting may have been an expensive ‘trial and error’ exercise, today it’s a simple case of combining the following tips with your 3D rendering tools.

Four ways to light up a room

Enhance Finishes

Wall colours can be enhanced with carefully selected lighting. A yellow (warm) light will make red, orange and yellow hues more vivid, but will subdue or mute blues and greens. Cool lights, on the other hand, will enrich colours on the cooler end of the spectrum.

Layered lighting can allow a variety of moods within one space. For instance, for a warm and cozy glow, play with positioning lampshades with a yellow (warm) tinted bulb at the corners of a room. To brighten up and enliven the same space, locate a vibrant fluorescent bulb in the centre of the room – on separate switching, of course – and see how the area is affected.

Illuminate with Style

The primary purpose of interior lighting is to illuminate the room. You can, however, add some decorative style with a variety of luminaires.

Take, for example, a chandelier in the foyer of your client’s home. It will offer bright and practical lighting for the entrance, while at the same time oozing elegance and class. A plain LED bulb would illuminate the space, but could be a missed opportunity for making a statement.

Highlight Elements in the Room

If you’ve spent time, effort, and a chunk of your client’s budget to design an eye-catching gallery, but haven’t carefully considered the lighting in this space, you could be doomed for a fail.

When preparing your CAD renders, experiment with various angles of light, and demonstrate to your client how their gallery walls will be highlighted in precisely the right spots.

Create the Illusion of Space

In condominium units or tiny flats, lighting is particularly important. Natural lighting in multi-residential developments can often be lacking, making an already small space look even more confined. With artfully rendered interior images, you can demonstrate to your clients how an enlarged window, new opening and thoughtful lighting plan can combine to create the illusion of an expanded space.

There are many ways to make lighting work to great effect in your clients’ homes. With a little understanding and creativity, and the powerful tool (literally) at your fingertips, you’ll be lighting up each and every project.

Contact Cabinets by Computer to find out how you can implement lightning effects using our 3D kitchen design software, KD – Max.