Boat accent lights are installed in the engine vents, around the swim platform, under cabinets or counters, and around the perimeter of the aft lounge to highlight particular areas or objects for visual interest. Unlike the ambient and task layers of lighting that are each necessary to the functionality of a space, accent lighting is not utilitarian.

Accent lighting is used to reinforce design aesthetics of or create a dramatic emphasis on elements that deserve particular attention. In a word, accent lighting can transform a space from ordinary to extraordinary by creating a focal pool of light. To be effective in enhancing the prominence or attractiveness of an object, accent lighting necessitates as least three times as much illuminance intensity on the focal point as the ambient lighting surrounding it.

In the cabin, a room or area of a vessel, accent lighting plays a key role in establishing the mood or atmosphere. Optimal illuminance levels, appropriate correlated color temperature of the light source, and thoughtful placement of accent fixtures can combine to create an environment that can evoke particular human biological responses and support health, wellbeing, and performance. Accent lighting should never be the focal point. In fact, it’s meant to work as unobtrusively as possible. Wall lighting, undercabinet lighting, and recessed lighting are unobtrusive ways to introduce accent light into a space.

Accent lighting is usually achieved with LED strip lights, LED light bars, or directional LED floodlights/spotlights in various mounting options.