Without light there would be no sight, light is what allows us to have vision. These subatomic particles are the messengers that bring news of the world from wherever it’s happening, right to where our eyes meet our minds. In this way the entire nature of the decorative arts is an act of controlling, and compensating for light.

There are a wide variety of lighting options available to you in a space, and each of these has its own properties and potential for effecting the environment which they are used in. Often the nature of the illumination is based on where the fixture is located in a space, and whether the light is filtered through some device.

The most basic lighting option is the overhead fixture. These glow from above, and the direct bulb is often encased in some sort of shade, whether it is a glass bulb, a ceramic flute, or even a cloth vest. Overhead lighting tends to provide the most abundant illumination, filling a space relatively evenly with its powerful glow.

Lamps are points of light that can be placed pretty much anywhere in the space that you like. They are often situated on tables or mantels, although floor lamps can be floated just about anywhere in the space. These provide points of illumination, isolated spears where things are bright, and casting shadows on further away objects. Using these, certain area of a room can be highlighted, or turned into focal points.

This is a trick which you can use to elevate what might otherwise be a less attractive space. Use the darkness to hide unseemly elements, and then create attractive displays around points of light. In this way you can accentuate the positive features of the environment while casting the unattractive ones in shadow and darkness.

Another lighting choice is ambient fixtures. These are pieces that don’t have the normal, intense glow of a standard light fixture, but instead tend cast off only a faint light that disperses throughout the space. These are mostly commonly used as mood lights in order to set the tone of an atmosphere, making it feel more relaxed and comfortable.

Some unusual lighting options include items such as Christmas lights. Multi colored Christmas strings can be hung from the ceiling in a mish-mosh array to create the illusion of a thousand multi-colored stars. If the multitude of hues is too garish for you, pure white Christmas lights are another great way to add ambient lighting to a room. They can be strung along ceiling, or across seams in the walls, to gently accent the beauty of the space, and give it a festive feeling all year long.

Other novelty pieces such as onyx lamps, laval lamps, and various string lights are also all available. You can capture the feel of the nineteen fifties with glowing neon signs, or use illuminated clocks to tell time in the darkest of hours.

Light is all around us, it is what gives us the ability to see our environment. As such is it the most important aspect of decorating, and is a powerful tool for controlling the atmosphere of an environment.