Why the ceiling light fails
A single overhead source produces flat illumination, hard shadows under the eyes, and no depth. It lights a room without drawing it.
Three low, distributed sources give a better result with less total power — because the eye reads volume through the differences between lit and dark zones, not through quantity of light.
Distribution
- One low source per activity: reading, conversation, circulation.
- One grazing source on a wall or textured material — stone, brick, textile. That is what reveals material.
- One very low source, at or near floor level, for late evening.
Mistakes about height
A table lamp whose shade sits above seated eye level glares: you see the bulb. The simple rule is that the bottom of the shade should be at eye level when seated, roughly 120 cm from the floor.
A pendant over a table hangs about 70 cm above the surface. Higher, it lights faces and glares; lower, it cuts the conversation.
A dimmer on the main source transforms a room more than any furniture purchase. The same room at full and at thirty per cent is two different places.
Evening
Switching to warm, low sources an hour before bed does more for sleep than any herbal tea. our piece on sensory design sets out colour temperatures room by room.