The Amazing Roles Of Lighting In Your Home And The Advantages Of Good Lighting Design

The Role of Lighting

Lighting plays a critical and multifaceted role in any project and influences aesthetics, functionality, safety, sustainability, and the overall experience of a space. Its role goes beyond mere illumination and encompasses a wide range of design, practical, and artistic considerations.

Proper lighting can help us accomplish more during the day, relax better in the evening and even sleep better at night. Lighting should highlight architectural features, bring attention to art and high-end furnishings, and make colors stand out. Learn more about the importance of lighting in this 2-minute video.

As lighting has become a more important technology system in the home, Mills has furthered our acumen in lighting, offering more solutions to our customers and partners.

A Lighting Layout is Not a Lighting Design

Most homes and businesses are given a generic lighting layout just to get permits and are generally focused on symmetry in the ceiling. A lighting design focuses on layers of light to create drama and interest, as well as illuminating proper areas.  A lighting design transforms the way a space looks and feels by putting the right light in the right place at the right time.

A dedicated local lighting design firm is often the best solution for lighting design.  They can be an important member of any new construction or renovation project.  However, there are times when a local lighting designer may not be the right fit for a project, whether it be due to budget, timing, or other factors.

A home or business still requires lighting design, even if there isn’t a dedicated lighting designer.  Someone needs to select fixtures, lay these out in each room, calculate lighting levels, determine lighting scenes, aim lighting fixtures, and coordinate all of this with the rest of the design and build team.  While electricians, architects and interior designers can provide some degree of assistance with this, respectfully, most don’t have the tools or expertise of a lighting designer.

Recognizing the importance of proper lighting design, Mills now offers lighting design consulting services.  To be clear, there is no substitute for a dedicated (often local) professional lighting designer.  But for those cases where a project may not support a lighting designer, we offer a cost-effective alternative that provides the essential aspects of lighting design.  With this offering, our goal is to elevate the aesthetic design, while making the design and build processes more efficient for the entire team.

If you have questions about these services, please reach out.  For design/ build partners, we’ve created a 45-minute presentation that we’re happy to deliver to your team.

We Also Provide LED Fixtures!

A recent addition to our product lineup, Mills offers an assortment of high-performance LED lighting fixtures. This includes recessed (in-ceiling), linear, and outdoor.

Since we often provide the controls, providing the lighting fixtures allows us to take ownership of the total system which gives us greater control over the outcome. The key to controlling and dimming lights – especially LED lights – is to make sure the driver of the lights is compatible with the dimmer. There are a lot of protocols involved with dimming lights (forward phase, reverse phase, 0-10V, etc.). The driver inside the fixture is what dims the LED – if that is incompatible with the dimmer controls, the lights won’t dim low enough or will flicker.  With Mills providing the fixture, we can make sure the driver is compatible with dimmer controls.

Have an upcoming renovation or new construction project and want to learn more about LED fixtures or need some lighting design help? Contact us – we’d love to help!