Our Top 10 Lighting Tips and Tricks

Lights are important in every home to create a positive, welcoming ambience, but depending on how you use your lighting will make a difference to the atmosphere of your home.

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

The way we use lighting in our home can change the mood and design. Beautiful large spacious rooms are as easily turned ugly with the wrong lighting, just as a small room is easily turned beautiful and cosy with good lighting. 

Luckily, with the wide range of lights available nowadays, it is easier to change the mood and design of a room just by changing the shape and colour of the lighting. 

For example, bright lights of white and blue make you feel more positive and energized, while dimmer lights of orange and yellow create a warm, relaxing mood in the room. 

So if you’re looking to re-evaluate your lighting to make your home more comfortable, be sure to check out these 10 amazing tips beforehand. 

1: Layer lighting

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Create layers of lighting with a balance of ceiling, table, wall, and floor standing lights. 

Using different heights creates an atmospheric mood while lighting every corner of the room. For example, in rooms with a hanging pendant or chandelier light as the main focus, use table lamps and arched standing lamps around the furniture to create character.

2: Use dimmers

Dimmers can instantly change the mood by the turn of a switch! 

They are inexpensive, help to conserve energy, and allow you to change the brightness level by turning it up or down. They’re perfect in the evening for relaxing and romancing on the sofa or in bed. Change the mood in a flash by turning the lights down low.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

3: Get a lampshade

Lampshades don’t get enough credit! The right lampshade can add style and colour to any room.

Use quality coloured lampshades like the ones from Dorval Lighting to match with home decor and create balance, or a white lampshade to maximize the light to make a room look brighter. 

Dark coloured lampshades like red are perfect for creating a romantic atmosphere as it gives off a soft red glow from the light. 

4: Light & art

The combination of light and sculptural artwork looks stunning. Illuminating precious sculptures, paintings, or coloured glass forms is one way to get the attention of guests. 

Photo by Xie Yujie Nick on Unsplash

Place LED lights under, over, or behind works of art to create shadows, angels, and colours. The reflection from art is a trick used in museums and art galleries, but it can work at home too if you own forms of art.

5: Lighting Direction

Change the size of a room by using different lights facing in different directions. Uplighters are perfect for making a ceiling seem higher than it is, and side lamps make rooms feel wider, with one in each corner.

6: Pot lights add space

In rooms with no natural light, like hallways and stairs, use warm pot lights to add space. Pot lights are built-in from the ceiling, and the light reflects off the wall to create the illusion of more space.

7: Don’t Hang Your Pendants Too High

A pendant is supposed to be the focal lighting point of the room, so it should be visible and not hung close to the ceiling or too low to see around it. Aim for around 36 inches above your table or countertop.

8: Natural Light

Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe on Unsplash

Make use of the natural light by using light coloured textures in your home to reflect the sunshine, and remove any objects or dark curtains that will block it. You want any light coming through the windows to reflect into all corners of the room.

9: Change the mood with a candle

Candles give off a light glow when used alone, and when used in bunches around a room, they can illuminate it and make it feel more relaxing, while scented candles can create an ambience for romance or wellbeing. 

10: Mirrored light

If you don’t have so much natural light in your home, you may want to invest in a few mirrors. Hanging mirrors opposite windows will amplify the glow to make rooms brighter until the sun goes down.

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