The Art of Layered Lighting: Task, Ambient and Accent Light
Layered lighting combines ambient light for overall glow, task light for cooking and working, and accent light to draw the eye to details. Here's how to bring all three together, from the Luna Chandelier to Artus and Kanna marble designs.
Carefully layered lighting plays an important role in how a room is used. Whether it’s helping to create a functional space, a relaxing corner or used to draw the eye to certain details, different light sources can be brought together to guide how the room feels.
Aside from its functional purpose, layered lighting also adds visual interest to a space, allowing your eyes to take in different elements of varying heights, shapes and brightness, whether the bulbs are switched on or off.
Here at Tom Raffield, there’s little we love more than combining different light sources and understanding how they can best complement one another. From task, to ambient to accent lighting - welcome to the art of layering.
Statement lighting: the Luna Chandelier
A statement light, usually a pendant or chandelier, is the focal point that the other layers of light build around.
Layering lighting doesn’t mean you can’t still make a statement. Having a standout piece helps to create a focal point and pull a room together.
In hallways or bigger open living spaces, go bold with our Luna Chandelier. Designed to take centre stage, this multi-light design is a functional work of art. Composed of six translucent glass spheres, bringing weightless illumination to the surrounding space, alongside fifteen double-layered, twisted wooden wings, the chandelier offers a beautifully dynamic display at any time of day.
Accent lighting: Glass Bue and Urchin wall lights
Accent lighting draws attention to a specific feature, such as artwork, a textured wall or an architectural detail.
Statement lighting can be complemented by paying attention to the finer details. Consider wall lights to highlight design features or add dimension and texture to bare walls - offering a soft glow or downlight to draw the eye’s attention. Experiment with height, taking into consideration the other lighting in the area - variation adds further visual interest and gives you an array of lighting options throughout the day, or even seasons.
Understated wall lighting such as our Glass Bue - Stem Wall Light casts a glowing spotlight, with its steam bent oak arch allowing the glass to restore calm in bustling kitchens, create focus in hallways or simply, radiate light where you most need it.
To highlight interesting architectural features within the home such as exposed beams or decorative cornices, opt for an uplight such as the Urchin Wall Uplighter. Curved strips of ash, oak or walnut wood are carefully bent to replicate the shape of sand combed shells, coming together to offer light upwards, creating pools of brightness in the dark. Perfect for cosy hallways on an autumnal evening.
Task lighting: Keel and Skipper Linear Trio Lights
Playing with layered lighting doesn’t take away from its all important function. Task lighting is key in rooms such as kitchens, offices or any spaces where focused lighting enables specific activities to be completed.
Rather than heading straight for the traditional ‘Big Light’, consider what works best for the space both aesthetically and functionally. For food prep areas in kitchens, overhead lighting can make a big difference to see the task at hand.
Our Keel - Linear Trio Light offers statement lighting without the fuss. The rectangular three-way fixture is ideal for creating multiple suspensions above a table, kitchen island or bar counter. If you're looking for something a little more decorative look to the Skipper Small - Linear Trio Light Long, with its curvaceous silhouette which casts bold shadows across the ceiling and walls.
Ambient lighting: Artus, Kanna and Skipper
Ambient lighting sets the overall mood of a room, often through the softer, warmer glow of table lights and floor lights.
The beauty of layered lighting is that you can choose the kind of light that feels right, whenever you need it. As you begin to wind down for the evening and move away from the task lighting that’s seen you through the best part of your day, it’s time to switch it up and opt for lamps instead.
Creating a beautiful glow and ambience just where you need it, incorporating different lamps into a space is a great way to style and accessorise while also offering a much-needed function.
Whether you’re cosying up with a book or simply enjoying the last hours of the day, a table lamp can entirely switch the mood of a room. Our Artus Marble Table Light is just as beautiful throughout the day, as it is when switched on - with its fine birch dowel cage and blown-glass bulb diffracting a mesmerising pattern of shadow and light throughout a space. The marble base complements the handcrafted wooden pole, adding texture and tactility to the space.
For evening light with height, consider a floor lamp to add a soft warming glow. Opt for simplicity with the Kanna Marble Floor Light where an elegant tier of sustainably sourced oak gently cocoons the bulb, allowing the organic wooden grain to take centre stage.
Or, make more of a statement with the looping design of the Skipper Floor Light, also available with a purposeful marble base.
Light has a natural rhythm of its own, shifting gently as the day unfolds. By layering different sources, you can echo that rhythm indoors, from the soft glow of a pendant to the quiet warmth of a lamp in the evening. It’s a simple way to bring depth, texture and a little more connection to the spaces we live in, creating an atmosphere that feels warm, natural and considered.
Posted: 11.09.26
Updated: 11.09.26