What is Task Lighting?
Task lighting is any light that projects a light towards a task or activity, making it a particularly practical type of light.
Task lighting has historically been more plain light fittings, or even hidding fittings such as under cabinet light. The purpose of the light is more to provide a funcition than to be aesthetically pleasing.
In more recent year that approack has changes significantly. It is now far more usual to have a light that provides a task lighting function, but is also a statement piece in its own right.
Kitchen Task Lighting
Perhaps the most traditional and perhaps easiest type of light to categorise as task lighting, these lights are normally embedded flush in the ceiling, such as ceiling spotlights, or often fixed to the undeside of a kitchen cabinet.This used to normally be hidden with a light pelmet, a matching piece of kitchen accessory that matched the door in the kitchen and concealed the light behind. As light pelmets have fallen out of fashion and with the iprovement of thin LED lights, light pelmets are often not used to conceal the kitchen lighting any more.
Ceiling Downlights
As mentioned above, still the most popular type of kitchen task light is performed by the ceiling spotlight. Often multiple lights fitted into the ceiling. These lights should be fire retardant spotlights.
The larger spotlights used to be very popular, especially tilting lights, however in more recent years smaller, yet still brighter, GU10 lamps have become very popular. Even since then, integrated LED spotlights are becoming even more popular still. These have the LED lamp embedded in the lamp. Great for seamless fitting, but the whole unit does need to be thrown away once the LED fitting has failed.
Home Office Task Lighting
Once again, one of the most populr task lighting, home office lighting can be ideal for creating the right amgience to get on with work. That can mean a pool of light on your desk from above, if using a ceiling spotlight, but can also mean something and elegant as a desk table lamp. Again there have been major deveolpment in design since the traditional green study lamp. There are now every concievable variation of design and style for your home task lighting. .
Living Room Task Lighting
Task lighting in the living room and dining room tend to be similar types of lights. The two most popular styles are floor lamps and table lamps or desk lamps. These would normally have directional heads, enabling you to point the light i a particular direction.
Living room tasks lights are often used for reading, or doing home crafting, such as sewing or knitting, whether a focused directional light can really help you to see what you are doing.
In some very modern designed dining rooms and living rooms, spotlight in the ceiling are used for task lighting, although this style normally specifically suits modern designed homes.