Basement Lighting

Lighting Basics

Bringing your basement out of the dark begins with effective lights. Ask the staff at a lighting store or home center to help you plan a lighting scheme that meets your needs. Knowing some lighting basics will help you make your visit more productive.

Almost any room can benefit from at least two layers of illumination: general and task lighting. You should also consider a third layer: accent lighting.torcheres

General, or ambient, lighting creates a uniform overall glow in a space using one central ceiling fixture or a series of fixtures. If you prefer, larger floor lamps and torcheres can also provide ambient lighting.

Backing up the general-lighting plan is the task-lighting layer. These are targeted lights that eliminate shadows and shed light directly onto areas where you work (such as a countertop in the laundry room), where you play (such as a pool table), and where you plan to read.

Accent (or mood) lighting involves aiming light on an object or surface simply to show it off. For this job, you need light bulbs with beams that are three to five times brighter than the general lighting.