I am finally getting around to writing a post on design elements, this time involving overhead lighting.
I recently worked on a kitchen design project that was in a very small space. Although we put recessed lights in the ceiling throughout the small kitchen and "great room", I still felt that pendant lights over the surprisingly large kitchen island were a necessary feature. But how could I add impact without making the room feel smaller? Small pendants would give a small feeling, and my goal was to make the space feel as big as possible. I needed to use larger pendants. But large pendant lights can block the sight lines and make the room feel smaller as well. So I found a solution that worked perfectly.
I had large pendants installed above the kitchen island, but I made certain that they were essentially light bulbs with large cages around them. Because the cages have large gaps and can be seen through, they don't block the sight lines. They allow one to look beyond them and through them, keeping the space feeling open and large.
This concept can be applied in many areas of the home. Remember that objects and features that block your view will make spaces feel more enclosed and smaller, so choose clear objects or ones that can be seen through to give spaces the perception of being larger and more open.
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