What is Accent Lighting?

Your home is a reflection of you—the life you’ve lived, the choices you make, the places you’ve been, the things you love. Why not show off the things that make you unique with some well-placed accent lighting?

Accent lighting is directed right at the things that you want illuminated: artwork, pottery, plants, souvenirs and so on. It’s important to do accent lighting right, which means doing it subtly. Make people notice the object you’re lighting, not the way that it is being lit.

It’s also important to avoid museum effect, which is caused by using only accent lighting. Without any other lighting, everything in the room that isn’t accented falls into darkness. (Interestingly, many museums are moving away from this lighting scheme and providing more even, comfortable lighting for patrons.)

Examples of accent lighting

Track lighting: Rows of track lighting are usually individually adjustable. Some track lighting styles are more decorative than others, but many of them are pretty modern-looking, so keep that in mind for your own preferences.

Picture lights: Just like at the world’s finest museums, you can get special lights just to mount above art that you want proudly displayed. Picture lights are available in a variety of sizes and finishes. There are even some that use energy-saving LED lights.

Under-cabinet lights: These are great for kitchens because they brighten up the room and show off unique touches like countertops or backsplashes, but there’s more. These lights are also useful for providing extra task lighting if they’re installed in the right place. Maybe you display some treasured items on shelves or in nooks where under-cabinet lights could be installed, for example.

LED tape lights: With a super slim profile and relative ease of installation (these lights stick to the surface where you place them), LED tape has made all kinds of dazzling light effects possible.

Sconces: Straddling the line between accent and decorative lighting, sconces bring small amounts of light to corners, corridors, bathrooms—pretty much anywhere where a little more illumination would be appreciated. Many of them are also ornate and highly decorated, though there are also varieties that are simpler in design.

Landscape accent lights: Create intriguing lighting effects by aiming outdoor accent lights at things like trees, rocks, statues, the exterior of the house or anything you like! Some outdoor accent lights are also rated for use in wet locations, meaning they can be submerged in ponds or used to illuminate water features.

Layer your lighting by adding ambient, task and decorative fixtures.

The sky is the limit when it comes to using accent lighting. If there’s a will, there’s a way. But if you need more help with your accent lighting strategy, contact us or call our trained lighting specialists at 1-866-688-3562. 

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