Dramatic Decorating With Light and Shadow

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Decorating with light and shadow can produce beautiful and unique effects. From the dramatic gothic look to the look of elegant and sophisticated soft lighting, shadows and light can work together to create dramatic looks for any room. Try some of the ideas below to produce dramatic decorating with light and shadow.

Dim the Lights

The easiest way to control the amount of artificial lighting in a room is by installing a dimmer switch. These inexpensive dials or slides offer the ability to lower light output to create dramatic moods or brighten the light output to create an equally as intense lighting feel to the room. When the lights are dimmed, it creates shadows that are more dramatic than if a light is simply turned off. Varying degrees of darkness are controlled by the dim lighting which makes the effect more dramatic than it otherwise may be. With the lights on full power, the shadows are harsher and more pronounced which creates an entirely different look and feel. A dimmer is a very simple and inexpensive way to achieve a multitude of lighting scenarios in a room.

Black Lights

Black lights are most often known for their use in nightclubs. They produce unusual lighting and deepen shadows. For a decorator, black lights offer a variety of uses. With the emphasis on shadows, black lights create dramatic alternatives to traditional light sources. Mystery, and a sense of something slightly dangerous, lurks within the shadows of black lights. The creative decorator will use that to her advantage when creating a space that calls for intense and dramatic shadow and light decorating.

Back Lighting and Up Lighting

These two methods of lighting produce dramatic shadow and light contradictions. In back lighting, the light source is behind the object which throws the shadow farther and more intensely. From the front, a back lit object can appear more as a silhouette. The shadow is dramatic and the light mysterious.

In up lighting, objects are lit from below. This bounces the shadow off the ceiling above and casts shadows that are not normally found. Although this is a great way to showcase an object, it also plays with the dramatic shadows and light used. Placing up lighting behind faux windows is a trick that many decorators use to create the look of a real window. It pushes out the light from the top of the curtain, while playing on the shadows to create the look of shade. Back lighting and up lighting methods are both commonly used in films and stage productions to create dramatic effects. In the home, they can be used in the same way to produce equally as intense results.

Dramatic decorating with light and shadow is really an experimentation with lighting techniques. It involves a lot of creative thinking and a willingness to try lights in new places and with new intensities. Try varying the bulb wattage for other effects. Softer bulbs cast softer shadows, whereas, more intense bulbs create deeper and more powerful shadows. Choose the lighting technique that works best for the room and creates the look that is trying to be achieved.

Designer and writer, Alyssa Davis of Metal-Wall-Art.com, has many ideas for bringing style to your home with wall art and large metal wall decor. Decorating with light