How Best to Light an Open-plan Room
An open-plan space requires clever use of lighting to unify its different zones. Check out this expert advice on how to light it in style
Melanie Shaw
18 April 2016
Houzz Contributor. Partner and Design Director at Brilliant Lighting.
The lighting scheme you choose for a large, open space can help to shape it and create a more cosy, intimate mood when needed. Open-plan rooms often present the challenge of lighting across multiple levels, and the impact of both high and low ceilings can be emphasised or played down, depending on the effect you want to achieve. Light can be a unifying factor in an open-plan space, but it pays to think through how you’re going to work with such a large, multi-use area. Here are some clever ways with lighting to inspire you.
Zone using different types of lighting
A large, open-plan kitchen/dining/living room can make a wonderful space, but each area requires a different lighting treatment. Make sure the ambient lighting is bright enough for food prep in the working areas of the kitchen, and zone the dining and relaxing spaces with more decorative fittings.
The pendants over the island in this room define the kitchen space and also deliver shadow-free task light to the work surface. The decorative lights over the casual dining area, meanwhile, provide a softer glow for evening entertaining, while the wall-mounted lamps provide further ambient lighting.
The key to zoning a space is to use sufficient circuits to control groups of lights independently. This space can be opened up or shrunk down, just by using light alone.
A large, open-plan kitchen/dining/living room can make a wonderful space, but each area requires a different lighting treatment. Make sure the ambient lighting is bright enough for food prep in the working areas of the kitchen, and zone the dining and relaxing spaces with more decorative fittings.
The pendants over the island in this room define the kitchen space and also deliver shadow-free task light to the work surface. The decorative lights over the casual dining area, meanwhile, provide a softer glow for evening entertaining, while the wall-mounted lamps provide further ambient lighting.
The key to zoning a space is to use sufficient circuits to control groups of lights independently. This space can be opened up or shrunk down, just by using light alone.
Be creative with fixing points
Open-plan living often goes hand in hand with limited fixing points – the physical place where the light fitting is connected. This dining area would make a fantastically bright breakfast or lunchtime spot, but there are no walls and little in the way of a ceiling to provide lights at night-time.
The solution here is a classic arched floor lamp, which delivers light to the table, plus ambient downlights in the ceiling, which help to frame the dining area.
Open-plan living often goes hand in hand with limited fixing points – the physical place where the light fitting is connected. This dining area would make a fantastically bright breakfast or lunchtime spot, but there are no walls and little in the way of a ceiling to provide lights at night-time.
The solution here is a classic arched floor lamp, which delivers light to the table, plus ambient downlights in the ceiling, which help to frame the dining area.
Visualise your sightlines
If your open-plan space is multi-level, it’s even more vital to plan the design in 3D and give careful thought to the elevations. There will be a wider range of sightlines through the space, so creating linked themes and avoiding clashing features in your lighting or wide disparities in colour temperature is important.
Learn all about colour temperature and LED lighting
If your open-plan space is multi-level, it’s even more vital to plan the design in 3D and give careful thought to the elevations. There will be a wider range of sightlines through the space, so creating linked themes and avoiding clashing features in your lighting or wide disparities in colour temperature is important.
Learn all about colour temperature and LED lighting
Link the outside and inside
Good lighting can help to integrate internal and external spaces. Thanks in part to its lighting, this relaxed entertaining area feels like an extension of the inside space.
The external lighting is simple, with strategically placed accent lights picking out the soft planting with interesting shadows, while the interior has a lot more happening. Linear lighting inside and lighting in the recessed ceiling area emphasise the strong, geometric lines of the space, while high-output downlights provide functional illumination. The key to the success of this lighting is the consistency of colour temperature across the scheme.
Good lighting can help to integrate internal and external spaces. Thanks in part to its lighting, this relaxed entertaining area feels like an extension of the inside space.
The external lighting is simple, with strategically placed accent lights picking out the soft planting with interesting shadows, while the interior has a lot more happening. Linear lighting inside and lighting in the recessed ceiling area emphasise the strong, geometric lines of the space, while high-output downlights provide functional illumination. The key to the success of this lighting is the consistency of colour temperature across the scheme.
Light the space inventively
Having a double-height space offers heaps of fun lighting options. This striking pendant cluster matches the eclectic style of the interior perfectly.
Be careful with exposed bulbs, though, as ones that are nice to look at directly often give out limited or poor-quality light. Back them up with other, more practical light sources to add extra oomph to the areas that need it.
Having a double-height space offers heaps of fun lighting options. This striking pendant cluster matches the eclectic style of the interior perfectly.
Be careful with exposed bulbs, though, as ones that are nice to look at directly often give out limited or poor-quality light. Back them up with other, more practical light sources to add extra oomph to the areas that need it.
Think about the view from above
If you can look from a high space down into a lower one, consider how the light fittings will appear when viewed from above. If you have a direct sightline down into the fittings, opt for a larger number of decorative ones, as seen here, and use architectural fittings in more discreet locations, such as a bookshelf.
If you can look from a high space down into a lower one, consider how the light fittings will appear when viewed from above. If you have a direct sightline down into the fittings, opt for a larger number of decorative ones, as seen here, and use architectural fittings in more discreet locations, such as a bookshelf.
Unify your zones
The architectural light in this mellow living space is discreet, but plays an important role in bringing the different areas together. The colour palette is muted, but the downlights and decorative fittings combine to bring out the colour and texture of the hard and soft furnishings.
This scheme is deceptively simple and understated, with all the light sources working together with no discordant notes. Test how different light sources will work with fabrics and hard surfaces, and check how each fitting or light source renders each colour. It’s also essential to ensure consistency of colour temperature.
The architectural light in this mellow living space is discreet, but plays an important role in bringing the different areas together. The colour palette is muted, but the downlights and decorative fittings combine to bring out the colour and texture of the hard and soft furnishings.
This scheme is deceptively simple and understated, with all the light sources working together with no discordant notes. Test how different light sources will work with fabrics and hard surfaces, and check how each fitting or light source renders each colour. It’s also essential to ensure consistency of colour temperature.
Consider high-output lighting
This games room highlights the need to use fittings with the right output to deliver the required level of light in a double-height space. The owner was keen to avoid hanging pendants to keep the sightlines clear between the lower and mezzanine levels, so light washes, using high-output linear fittings, were integrated into the wall coffers to deliver a wash of light up the ceiling and down the walls.
Linear fittings in the mezzanine and discreetly built into the staircase help to link the levels, as they take your eye though the space, while high-output, ceiling-mounted fittings deliver great lighting for a game of pool without the need for a suspended pendant.
Continued development in LED means that increasing numbers of high-output fittings in more discreet, smaller forms are coming onto the market.
This games room highlights the need to use fittings with the right output to deliver the required level of light in a double-height space. The owner was keen to avoid hanging pendants to keep the sightlines clear between the lower and mezzanine levels, so light washes, using high-output linear fittings, were integrated into the wall coffers to deliver a wash of light up the ceiling and down the walls.
Linear fittings in the mezzanine and discreetly built into the staircase help to link the levels, as they take your eye though the space, while high-output, ceiling-mounted fittings deliver great lighting for a game of pool without the need for a suspended pendant.
Continued development in LED means that increasing numbers of high-output fittings in more discreet, smaller forms are coming onto the market.
Illuminate in both directions
Large, open-plan rooms often have ‘standard’ ceiling heights of 2.4m. While this isn’t low, the size of the room can make it feel so.
If you have an unusually large room with a standard or relatively low ceiling height, it’s important to find ways of lifting your eye line. In this kitchen-diner, downlights for the work areas are supplemented with up- and downlights, and lit walls and units, to provide a strong vertical light that takes your eyes upwards to ‘lift’ the space.
Large, open-plan rooms often have ‘standard’ ceiling heights of 2.4m. While this isn’t low, the size of the room can make it feel so.
If you have an unusually large room with a standard or relatively low ceiling height, it’s important to find ways of lifting your eye line. In this kitchen-diner, downlights for the work areas are supplemented with up- and downlights, and lit walls and units, to provide a strong vertical light that takes your eyes upwards to ‘lift’ the space.
Embrace lighting control
One aspect that’s often overlooked when planning a lighting scheme for an open-plan space is how to control it.
Conventional switches make it tricky to control lighting from multiple points, and you’ll only be able to dim at a single point. Zoning the areas of the space with light means having individual control over multiple circuits, but this can make for a rather messy mass of multi-gang switches on the wall.
A lighting control system enables you to dim from multiple locations, while changing the balance, shape and feel of a space with pre-programmed lighting scenes. A single keypad replaces multi-gang switches, so it’s well worth considering.
Considering a lighting control system? Here’s why you should have one
TELL US…
What mixture of lighting options have you used in an open-plan space? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
One aspect that’s often overlooked when planning a lighting scheme for an open-plan space is how to control it.
Conventional switches make it tricky to control lighting from multiple points, and you’ll only be able to dim at a single point. Zoning the areas of the space with light means having individual control over multiple circuits, but this can make for a rather messy mass of multi-gang switches on the wall.
A lighting control system enables you to dim from multiple locations, while changing the balance, shape and feel of a space with pre-programmed lighting scenes. A single keypad replaces multi-gang switches, so it’s well worth considering.
Considering a lighting control system? Here’s why you should have one
TELL US…
What mixture of lighting options have you used in an open-plan space? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
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that far eh! Pop in for a coffee....
Agree with Brilliant Lighting that if you have a really big, open plan space you need to think carefully about lighting and what you want to achieve in each different 'zone' and how different types of lighting might complement each other. We've got a short lighting blog post on this with some ideas/tips.
please can you tell me what the coffee table is in the third picture down? The lovely three level building.