In many parts of the world, we spend many waking hours at night. Therefore, effective & uplifting artificial lighting is just as important as good natural lighting is during daylight hours.

Often, people will attempt to provide for all lighting needs in a room by illuminating the entire space evenly. This will typically result in a very uninteresting lighting scheme. If done with a single point light source, it will result in harsh shadows and areas that are insufficiently lit. If done with a spread out (diffuse or reflected) light, it will result in very flat lighting which washes out much of the detail of shapes and textures.

Furthermore, attempting to illuminate an entire room will almost certainly result in either some areas being too brightly lit for comfort, or some areas insufficiently lit - and often it results in both.

Effective room lighting can be best achieved by layering the following different types of lighting, where each light source serves a specific purpose: