Which Spaces Need to Be Adequately Lit in an Office?

Poor lighting is often highlighted as one of the most common interior design errors. While poor lighting can be nerve-wracking and annoying no matter the space you are in, it’s especially problematic in office environments or any business setting.

It’s easy to see why people are less inclined to work in an office that’s either too bright or too dim. Inadequate lighting in an office environment can negatively impact the yield of your employees and, as a result, the general productivity of the company as well.

Inadequate lighting can also be a safety or health hazard. For instance, imagine having lousy lighting in the office lobby or basement parking lot; it can lead to a severe accident. On the other hand, if the light is too bright, it can cause eye strain and fatigue.

So which areas should you ensure are well lit in an office environment, and which type of lighting solutions should you be looking at to improve these spaces? Let’s look at the areas that should get adequate lighting and how to illuminate these areas.

Some of The Spaces That Need to Be Adequately Lit in an Office Include:

The Reception

The reception is the first contact point with your vendors and clients. Therefore, it’s vital that the lighting in this space be both suitable and appealing. A combination of natural light and LED bulbs will help create a theatrical effect and ensure adequate lighting at all times.

In the reception area, you should avoid excessive contrast between natural and artificial lighting. Instead, receive your guests with a combination of direct and indirect light to create a friendly atmosphere and have a front desk so that the guests are well attended to.

You can highlight architectural features with accent lights to make the reception come alive. This forms a vivid picture in the mind of a guest, including your vision and personality.

Waiting Lobby

Guests have to wait to be served for a moment after they arrive. This should be a pleasant experience for them. An adequately lit lobby with well-arranged seating will help keep your guests happy and at ease.

You can have bio-active lighting in the lobby, which can invoke a good mood and attitude in your guests. When it gets a bit darker, ensure there’s a balance between direct and indirect lighting to adequately light up the space and avoid glare. You can install glare-free vertical lights on the walls of the lobby to enhance the space.

Meeting Rooms

Meeting rooms need special attention because of the range of activities from company meetings and presentations to big conference calls. Again, adequate lighting in this space can communicate the company’s culture and intent.

A meeting room should have a flexible lighting system with an efficient control system that can support various uses of the space. For instance, you can have ceiling luminaires to offer adequate background lighting and lighting for more demanding tasks.

Wall washers and spotlights can help create a variation in lighting. Having a user-friendly control panel for the lights will provide support for activities such as conversations and presentations. Presentations need adequate lighting so that others can see the presenter’s face well. In addition, these lights need to be synced with the screen-based demonstrations.

Corridors and Staircases

You can use architectural highlights in corridors and staircases to turn these spaces into absolute indoor sceneries by combining various lighting fixtures, colors, and effects including natural light, to accentuate spatial layers that are pleasing to the human eye.

To enhance the layout, key elements such as doors, elevators, and signage can be accentuated with spotlights, dedicated lights, strip lights, or wall lights.

You could also invest in a smart light management system for such areas, which will dim the lights when no human is detected and come to life when people come in. This helps you save money on electric bills and make optimal use of natural light.

Parking Lot

Basement parking lots should also be well lit because these areas get pretty dark, especially at night. Having adequate lighting in these spaces will prevent collisions between cars and enhance employees’ safety, especially if the space is shared with other companies.

Having adequate lighting in the parking lot also enhances the safety of the vehicles in the lot. For basement units, LEDs are ideal for full illumination of these spaces because they tend to get quite dark, and also LEDs don’t need to be constantly maintained.

How Do You Light Up the Various Spaces in Your Office?

For starters, ensure that there is no glare because it can be tough on the eyes. There are two kinds of glare; direct glare and reflected glare. Some typical sources of reflected glare include computer displays and glossy furniture pieces.

On the other hand, direct glare is caused by natural light or light fixtures being situated in the wrong place. To correct direct glare, you can shift the light fixtures so that the light mirrored by them falls away from you and not on you.

Adding more lights can help correct either kind of glare by enhancing the brightness of the space around what’s causing the glare. For instance, you can use corrective lighting to limit the glare caused by computer displays.

Ensure you identify the areas within the office where light is poorly disseminated. Finally, you want to have an office environment that’s uniformly lit. This is where combining various types of lighting comes into play. For instance, artificial light can illuminate areas that natural light can’t reach, such as corners.

Also, consider your paint choices. The color of paint on the walls of an office or a shared workspace definitely affects the lighting. Glossy or super bright paint can cause glare, so you might want to avoid that.

Final Thought

All in all, there are various spaces you need to adequately light up in an office as illustrated above. Lighting varies from space to space, and it’s dependent on the size of the space and natural light coming in. So, you might want to choose lighting fixtures depending on the space.