Four Types of Accent Lights for Public Locales

Want to know about the different types of accent lights? This article discusses the various types of accent lights available in the market.

If you manage a lively locale, such as a store, restaurant, club, or anything else that involves elaborate lighting, you are likely aware about types of lights like overhead lights and floodlights that cover the majority of your space. But what about smaller lights? Do they serve a purpose among ambient lights and task lights, and do they make a difference when you have a well-lit area anyway? The answer to both of these questions is definitely "yes".

These smaller lights are known as accent lights, and they are not always just smaller versions of ambient lights; they can also take other shapes in order to pull off interesting effects. The top commercial lighting contractors can all utilize accent lighting in a room, and here are some of their best techniques to make the most of small, unlit areas.

Wall-Washing

While often mistaken for task lighting, wall-washing is certainly categorized as accent lighting for its purpose of lighting up an area to draw more attention to it. This accent light covers a wall from floor to ceiling in order to better highlight positive points of interest along and hung on your wall. Examples of lights that can pull off wall-washing include track lights and recessed eyeball lights, and they are to be hung from the ceiling and pointing downwards along the wall.

Display Lighting

This is considered to be similar to wall-washing, except it’s on a smaller scale and does not need to involve a wall. Display lighting is simply when you want to have a light directed towards an area or object to make it stand out more in a room. Display lighting can also be used inside display cases, such as in a store or even in your own home to help display valuable items. Other examples of objects that can be used with display lighting include plants, vases, artwork, and podiums. Track lights or reflector bulbs are two types of fixtures that work well as display lights.

Up-lighting

Up-lighting is light that is directed up towards the ceiling, rather than down towards a wall or object. Up-lighting is not used to highlight anything, but rather to add visual appeal to the room by using light. This type of lighting also can make ceilings look higher up than they appear. Up-lighting can also be used outside your home or building, as it can add flair to the front of the building at night. Examples of light fixtures that work for up-lighting include silver crown bulbs, wall sconces, and wall lights.

Backlighting

Backlighting is light that comes from behind an object, and this technique of accent lighting can give off a glow, either on one or around all sides of the object. Backlighting is one of the most flexible lighting types there is, as it can be placed behind covers, on walls, underneath surfaces, underneath stairs, and more, to give the object that it’s lighting a cool or eerie (depending on what you intend) glowing effect. LED strip lights, down lights, and under cabinets lights are all suitable candidates for backlighting, and examples of objects that can be backlit include wall artwork and TV screens. Backlighting is great for when you have significant parts or objects in a room that are still rather dark despite having plenty of lighting.

Accent lighting is available online and from your electrical repair service. The next time you want to overhaul your public locale with brand-new lighting, consider accent lighting to tie the whole space together and make sure no stone is unturned, or unlit, in this case.