LEARN MORE Types & uses of lighting

Modern task and accent lights are small and discreet, unobtrusively adding light to a room with antique fixtures and lamps.

AMBIENT lighting is in the background, reflecting off walls and ceilings, Decorative chandeliers, torchieres, and wall sconces frequently provide ambient light as well.

TASK lighting illuminates a specific area. Examples include a reading lamp, a flexible work light, lighting over the bathroom mirror.

DECORATIVE lighting features the fixture itself as an objet d’art. A big old gaslight with gilded bronze cherubs fits the definition, as does a copper Arts & Crafts lamp. Reproductions tend to deliver more light, crossing over into ambient or task lighting.

ACCENT lighting is focused on a subject: a collection of pottery, an oil painting. Today’s discreet mini-spots can do the job without ruining the aesthetic of a period room. As the illustration shows, combining new, high-tech lights with antique or reproduction (or artisan-made) fixtures will give you the light you want without sacrificing mood or period effect. A decorative, reproduction task light and wall sconces join modern, narrowdiameter tube lights recessed behind cabinet mouldings. The amount of light is adequate and adjustable.