Natural lighting is the most important aspect and effective way to brighten up a basement room. Some basements come with already existing small and shallow windows near their ceilings. However, even with these small windows in place, lighting is often still not up to the desired standard of the homeowner. When this is the case, and when basements come void of any windows what-so-ever, natural lighting can be built in via the addition of light wells and/or sunlight tubes and mirror shafts.
Light wells are unroofed external spaces to allow light to reach what would otherwise be a dark area. They usually open up an enclosed space to outside courtyard areas and may be lined with glazed bricks in order to increase the reflection of sunlight within the space in question. Some examples of light wells include the images found below:
Sun light tubes with mirror shafts are a second way to have natural lighting be part of your new basement design. This lighting method works by having a small skylight placed on the outside of your house and attached to a tube which feeds into the walls of your basement. Through the use of mirrored shafts, this method allows sunlight to be directed and fed from the outside of your property straight into your basement.
Artificial lighting can also lighten up your basement to a significant extent. The wonders of artificial lighting are that you can cater it to suit your precise design requirements such as different styles and moods. Here at Basement Builder, our lighting and AV designers go through proposed plans with each of our clients on a room by room basis and discuss in detail what will attain the most creative and effective result for each project. Our designers discuss different forms of lamps, transformers, drivers and controls, together with the positioning and installation of each fitting. For maximum flexibility, dimmer or scene setting details can be included depending on individual requirements and desires. There are various different forms of artificial lighting options, some of which can be found below.
To provide light generally throughout an entire space, lighting can be applied in the form of overhead fixtures. In smaller spaces, only one source of overhead light may be needed in order to obtain adequate levels of illumination. For large spaces, several sources of evenly distributed lights throughout the room, such as track lights or pendant lamps, may be necessary. For basements with little height, fittings with a slim profile, for example LED panels or recessed lights, can be selected as a means to not have the lighting system encroach on the small vertical space available.
Accent Lighting is able to bring depth to your lighting plan and helps create a desired mood. In addition, it can help bring attention to certain elements of the room such as artwork, architectural details or furniture via the use of LED spotlights. In contrast, LED wall wash lighting systems are able to bring a bright yet soft mood to a room.
