If you've read any of my home decor posts, you may notice that lighting always plays a big part in creating the perfect room, whatever it's use. Lighting has a huge affect on our mood, our ability to relax and even our happiness.
We all know that sunshine is vital for our overall health, providing us with much needed vitamin D, but it's also vital to get the lighting right in our homes as even that artificial light can have a big affect on our mental health.
For me, lighting is what sets the mood for the room and getting it right makes a world of difference. Take kids rooms for example, where we often have a soft night light for a relaxing bed time, gentle light shows to sooth sleepy babies and even light related toys that entice and entertain our children. Our living rooms are usually softly lit of an evening to create a relaxed atmosphere while we shake off the stress of the day, even adding things like candles for a gentle winter glow to make us feel calm and happy. Watching those little flames flicker, casting shadows on the wall as they dance peacefully can slow us down and get us ready for bed time.
It's so important to get lighting right in our homes and it's amazing how getting the right balance can positively affect how we feel as well as making our rooms look beautiful. If you're looking at doing some building work or installing a new kitchen for example, lighting should be up there on the important plans from the off. With that in mind, here's a few tips to help you get the best from the lighting in your home;
Make use of natural light
Natural light is great for our health, but it's also readily available to us all for most our waking hours and bonus - totally free! Ensure you are letting as much daylight in as you can. You could opt for new more up to date window solutions from places like https://www.threecountiesltd.co.uk where you could go for more modern, open windows and doors but even opt for things like sky lights or conservatories for even more natural light. You could also lighten up your decor to reflect the light around your home and add mirrors so the sunlight can bounce off back into the room. In our home, the conservatory is my favourite place to sit. I can enjoy the natural light even on rainy days, absorb the beauty of nature and relax in my favourite chair. Come the evening, this area is still relaxing with soft lamps and under cupboard flows from the kitchen.
Lighting should compliment not dominate
In the room, our lighting should add a glow when needed, but stand back when not required. Much like a waiter in a restaurant, we want then there some of the time but when we don't, we don't want to be tripping over them. Choose lighting that works with the style and layout of your home. You may want carefully concealed strip lights or bold designer lamps, it's whatever works for you, just make sure that if it's a stand out piece alone, that it's also fit for purpose. You may want to include several light options in one room even so that the lighting can be adjusted to suit your mood or activities.
Highlight the good
Make sure lighting is predominantly in areas that you want to show off as opposed to that dumping ground corner or office area. Lighting can be a great way to highlight our treasures but can also unfortunately make a feature of those not so exciting areas. Nowadays though there are lots of options available, so it's easier than ever to add that glow just where we need it.
Get the night light right
Besides being a bit of an awesome tongue twister, it's true that at night the lighting needs to do it's thing just right. We need enough light to safely guide the way when we need to wander, but be gentle enough to not wake us too much and allow us to get back to our slumber soon after. We are programmed to sleep when it's dark, so to avoid waking ourselves up too much, opt for soft warm lighting that either remains on or comes on gently in the night.
Less is more
As with most things, when it comes to our lighting set ups less can absolutely be more. Having a few options available to us in a room is a great idea but when it come to getting lights wired in or shopping for lamps, think about what bulbs you will have and how much light you really need. It's easy to go overboard especially when lamps are so beautiful nowadays, but plan carefully to get it right for each room.
Choose the right bulb
Nowadays it's much more than just choosing the most energy efficient bulbs, but we also need to consider the lighting style and wattage too. When we know where our light is going and what the purpose will be, we can then decide how bright we'll need it to be and also if it gives out a colder blue light or a warmer orange light. There are lots of options for smart bulbs too where the shade and brightness can be altered digitally, these are well worth considering for modern homes with a hive set up.
I hope that helps you make the perfect lighting choices for your home. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
