In the beginning, “God said ‘Let there be light.’. ” It was a very smart move on God’s part. It is, of course, referring to the Big Bang of Creation billions of years ago. Yet, it is relevant to life as we know it today.

Can you imagine what life would be like if there were no light? Basically, most of what we experience as physical life today would not exist.

The same principle applies to a designed residential interior of today. Light is the most important, biggest, versatile, and determining element of any interior space.

Light includes not just natural light – direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, seasonal light, reflective light, weather light, time of day light, et cetera. All of these different types determine what we experience as natural light in our lives.

Then, there is man made light which is all light not natural. Man made light has advanced from fires, torches, candles, gas jets, and electric bulbs to to a menu of constantly evolving new sources and types of lighting today.

The combination of these two is what determines the light that is seen in residential interiors. There are two mistakes that many people make here. They do not take into consideration the effects of all of the different kinds of natural light, how to use these different lights effectively, and how to combine them with man made light to produce a functional and beautiful lighting result.

The second biggest mistake that most people make is that many of the sources of man made light in the room are decorative and emotional and are designed as if they were still flames, have to have a base to hold it up (decorative bases and arms), and a shade to hide the flame and diffuse the light (of which there are a multiple choices). Light should be treated as light and not as a homage to a past design era.

As time passes, new sources are getting away from such and it is a good thing and is progress being made. Intelligence some times over comes emotion. We live in the 21st century and not in past eras. Treat light as such.

Then, there is the difference between functional and decorative lighting which is another area too big to cover here.

Remember!  All colors you see any where and at any time are determined by the light. The sizes, lines, shapes, and textures of what you see are determined by the lighting.

Look at light. Think about light. Analyze light. Appreciate and enjoy light.

Food for thought.