“The unique aspects of your home that you agonize over, such as the flooring and tile, are lost without good lighting,” says Danica Jacobson, showroom manager at Lighting Concepts. Especially during the long Maine winters, when natural light is scarce, lighting is an essential component of home design. Jacobson tells Maine Home+Design about layering light to emphasize details and create a cozy space.

Q. How does lighting affect overall the ambience of the space?

A. Depending on the layers of light, it can change the way a room feels. Lighting provides that extra layer of design. You can design a beautiful home, but if you can’t see it, you miss out on that whole “wow” factor.

Q. Why is window shading important?

A. Expansive windows can be beautiful during the day when the sun is sparkling, but at night, all that glass feels different. It’s colder. You feel like a fish in a little bowl. Shading also protects the beautiful furnishings in our homes. A lot of times our customers don’t shade as an added decoration; they want to control the light.

Q. Which spaces are the most important to light well?

A. Kitchen and master bath lighting is so important. Homeowners look at those lights first thing in the morning, before they’ve had coffee, and last thing at night. Those spaces are usually ones that we spend a lot of time in, and they need to feel like a sanctuary.

Q. Why do some people struggle with the concept of layered lighting?

A. Usually people think about flipping just one switch. When you’re building new or renovating, you get to add a lot of other levels of light, so during the day, when you want to be productive, you may want to flip on three switches on the wall and have all the lights come on. In the evening, when you want it to be cozy, you may want to flip some switches off and dim some others.

Q. What does cozy lighting mean to you?

A. For me, cozy is a warm feeling. It’s about how you want to feel when you get home at the end of the day.