Guides
6 min
How to light a room in three layers
Ceiling light alone flattens a room. Here is the three-layer setup we use in every flat we light.
Start low
Put the first light below eye level: a table lamp on a sideboard, a lantern on the floor. Low light makes a room feel smaller in the good way, like the walls came in a little.
Add a pool where you sit
Every chair people actually use needs its own pool of light. A reading lamp should land on the page, not in your eyes, so aim the head down and to the side.
Keep the ceiling for tidying up
Overhead light is for finding your keys. After dark, leave it off and let the lamps do the work. Three lamps at 30% look warmer than one at 100%.
Mentioned in this article
Pleat
Hand-pleated linen on a solid brass stem. Light goes down onto the table and up onto the wall.
