Bring Light Into Your Home

Lighting is one of the essentials of home design. Light brings positivity to spaces but it can also be used and manipulated to create different moods. The natural light from large windows is just as important as small feature lights used to highlight particular features. Indeed, the more clever tricks you have up your sleeve, the more you will see just how important lighting is.

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Having different lighting styles and options in your home is the best way to create different moods. Think about it: a romantic evening in requires a very different style of lighting to a day doing DIY! This is why you should think carefully about how each room can be changed according to how you feel – or how you want to feel.

Though there are all kinds of rules for lighting your home, the reality is that we all have pretty good instincts about what looks and feels good. However, if you are feeling short of ideas and want a bit of inspiration, here are 3 ways you can bring light into your home.

3 ways to bring light into your home

Changing Your Windows

Just as the eyes are the windows to your soul, your home’s windows are the eyes of your house. They are the only way to bring in natural light and yet, so many homes come with the smallest windows the builders can get away with. While redesigning your whole home for more light is quite a big undertaking, if you really want that extra natural light, it is worth every penny you spend.

But changing your windows can also make a big difference. Replacing old frames is a good place to start  Finding panes with smaller frames is a good way to introduce more light into any room and Renewal by Andersen windows shows just what sort of potential there is. Even something as simple as smaller frames can make a huge difference to the way light enters your room.

If there is one room where getting the natural lighting right it is the bathroom. In this room, you will want plenty of light for your ablutions but you will also want privacy. Frosted glass is a great option as this will ensure privacy without limiting your light.

However, the bathroom is always a good place to express your more playful side. As well as brightly coloured tiles and fun themes, you might consider a stained glass window. There are all kinds of designs you could go for and, if you get the colors right, a simple white wall could become a beautiful rainbow throughout the day. 

bring light into your home

Different Lighting Styles

When you are designing a room, you are probably thinking about what you are going to do and where. For example, when you set up a living room, you will likely be thinking about where the TV would be best and then set up your furniture around it. You are also likely to think about how you might use blinds or curtains to block the light while you are watching!

However, the way you use each room is also impacted by the lighting choices and the options you give yourself. Broadly speaking there are 3 types of lighting: ambient lighting that fills the whole room; task lighting which illuminates a particular area; and accent lighting which illuminates features in the room and may include different types of novelty lighting. Each type of lighting plays a specific role in each room so getting the balance right in each one is crucial – you wouldn’t want bathroom lighting in your bedroom after all!

Though you might not use each type of lighting in every room, some rooms, such as the kitchen, definitely require all 3 types for the best effects. For example, the dream kitchen requires plenty of ambient lighting so that you can see what you are doing, task lighting (such as under cabinet lights) to illuminate the work surface you are using and accent lighting to add interest when you have parties.

Planning your lighting is an important step in your interior design. Though you certainly want variety, you don’t want to end up feeling cluttered up by your lighting choices. Think carefully about the placement of each light and do consider simple ideas like dimmer switches to bring multiple options to a single fitting.

Having Fun With Lights

Every home should be a reflection of its inhabitants. A visitor should walk in through the front door and be able to immediately tell who lives there and what their character is like. While everyone has different ideas of what makes the perfect home, a bit of fun never goes amiss and lighting is one of the best ways to express this side of your character.

If there is one room that really deserves some fun lighting, it is a child’s bedroom. There are all kinds of lights that are suitable and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and brightnesses from sweet giraffes to phasing moons. This sort of lighting is ideal because it can help young toddlers to sleep when they are afraid of the dark but also form part of the decoration during the day.

Adults should also consider having fun with lighting. And while you might not fancy a light-up t-rex in your living room, a few novelty lights around the house never did any harm. The fashion for neon lights is going strong in 2019 with a variety of colours and styles on the market. The pink flamingo is a classic kitsch addition to any home but have a look at the mottos and other designs around too.

The more you play with the lighting in your home, the more you will be able to see the difference it makes. Don’t hold back on trying out new lighting methods and give yourself a chance to be a bit more dramatic in the way that you create features. Small lights are just as important as big lights and often they focus attention in a way you wouldn’t be able to predict.  

ALSO: HOW TO LIGHT YOUR HOME FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT
BRIGHT IDEAS TO TURN UP THE NATURAL LIGHTING IN YOUR HOME
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