Lighting Design · Scenes

Designing lighting scenes that actually work.

2026-09-22 · Obsidian Audio Video · Houston

A lighting scene is a preset that sets multiple lights to specific levels with one press. "Good Morning" turns on the kitchen lights to 80%, raises the hallway to 50%, and turns off the bedroom. "Entertaining" dims the dining room to 40%, turns on the patio lights, and sets the living room to 30%.

Most scenes fail because they're designed by the installer, not the homeowner. The installer doesn't know that you read in the study at 9pm, or that the kitchen island is where the kids do homework, or that the entryway light should be at 20% when you're watching a movie. Good scene design starts with understanding how you actually live in each space.

Start with how you use each room

Before programming any scenes, walk through your home at different times of day:

• Morning: What's on when you wake up? Kitchen, hallway, maybe the bathroom.
• Daytime: What's on when you're working from home? Office, maybe ambient lighting in the living area.
• Evening: What's on for dinner and cleanup? Kitchen, dining, hallway.
• Night: What's on when you're relaxing? Living room, maybe outdoor lights.
• Away: What's on when you leave? Entry lights on a timer, maybe landscape lights.

Essential scenes for most Houston homes

• Good Morning: Kitchen 80%, hallway 40%, bedroom off, shades rising on sunrise
• Away: All interior off, entry lights on timer, landscape on at dusk
• Dinner: Dining 70%, kitchen island 60%, hallways 30%
• Movie: Living room 10%, hallway 20%, shades down, TV on
• Good Night: All off except landscape and pathway lights to bedrooms
• Entertaining: Living 30%, dining 50%, kitchen 60%, outdoor 70%, hallways 30%

← Back to insights