One of the things I think of most this time of year, especially with Christmas on the horizon is lights. Twinkling colourful lights in windows, candles and fires burning for added comfort and beautiful lamps giving us a little extra lighting on these darker days and earlier evenings.
As well as being relaxing and practical, lighting can have a huge impact on our mood, with so many suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) when winter hits, it's more important than ever to get the lighting right. If you're really suffering, you may want to invest in something like a light therapy box to steady your mood through the winter months.
Lighting to improve your mood
Something like this Lumie Bodyclock which is well up there on my wish list right now! The Lumie steadily lights up over 30 minutes to imitate a real sunrise, and the same for a sunset setting. This means you can wake up more naturally, rid that horrid feeling of waking up to darkness which is super depressing in winter, as well as sending you off to sleep more gently.
Although not the highest ranking in the style stakes, I love the look of the Lumie and the whole idea of a gentle adjustment to the darkness, as it does come as a shock every winter. I hate that feeling of your alarm going off and checking the time only to find it's get up time, but pitch black!
Cosy nights lighting
The best thing about winter is breaking out the candles more regularly, legitimately being able to have far too many twinkling fairy lights and cosying up our living space, making the most of the darker nights. Here's a few cosy lighting suggestions that I love right now, including a few classics.
A unicorn candle that melts to reveal a rainbow inner of colour? Yes please! I love candles that reveal secrets, we have one with a skeleton inside and you can even get ones that melt to reveal jewellery and all sorts. Remote control candles are like the thing you need but never knew you needed, seriously! One click and the candles start flickering just like the real thing. This one (above) even has a handy timer so you can pop it on for the evening knowing that you won't need to worry about wasting batteries if you forget to switch them off (or the house burning down for that matter!).
A similar idea to the previous RC version, but the Phillips lamps look much more sophisticated, rechargeable on a base so you can move them anywhere and not have to worry about replacing batteries.
Himalayan pink salt lamps are said to absorb water and particles from the air and also take positive ions with them. Then, when the heated salt releases cleansed water vapour back into the air, it also expels negative ions which have the opposite effect on our airways – helping to keep your lungs clear. Aside from this, I just think they look kind of beautiful glowing like some kind of dragon egg (nerd).
The alphabet and cactus lamps are so cheap and simple, but do add a bit of charm to a room as they are quite bold and striking. They don't give a huge amount of light off, but do add to the relaxing feel in the evening and are great for kids rooms.
Mathmos are always top of the shop when it comes to mood lighting, from their classic lava lamps to the 'Tuba' light that reacts to music, they just have it worked out perfectly regardless of your age or taste. Last up is a classic style lamp, with stars inside. This is a pretty little addition for Christmas time and is neutral enough to sit in among your other decorations adding a little sparkle.
Room lighting
Aside from the gizmos and gadgets above, there is always place for a beautiful lamp or lighting set up in the home. Lighting makes a huge difference to the look of the room as well as how we feel. Choosing a light that you not only love the look of, but also fits your theme and reflects an element of your personality is exactly what we should be looking out for.
Here's a few lighting options out there right now which work well all year round. After all, a lamp is for life, not just for Christmas (yep I went there!). Some standard, and some a little more fun for the family home.
Do you need to upgrade your lighting this season?
