Total Illumination: The Importance of Lighting Your Home
When decorating your home, lighting is often an afterthought. People tend to gravitate towards other things first - wallpaper, flooring, furniture, curtains - and then just pick out a light fixture afterwards which goes with the theme. Lighting is underestimated, but can be crucial for creating different atmospheres within the home. It is an adaptable and fluid design element, and one which can be used to your advantage.
Lighting Beyond the Physical
The importance of lighting is very ancient and symbolic, with many religious festivals and practices including the lighting of lamps or candles. In Telugu households, the month of Kaartheeka is very important. Starting on the day of Deepawali, oil lamps are lit every day for a month to promote an auspicious life. Light represents guidance, mental enlightenment, and joy, and is used to ‘ward off the darkness’ both physically and metaphorically. Whatever your home and lifestyle, it is still worth keeping this in mind when you consider how to light the different spaces in your home. Light can make a small, cramped space feel larger and more open, which is better for your mental wellbeing.
Top Tips for Lighting Your Home
· Start with a good base: when choosing a new home, try and find one with large windows to encourage lots of natural light. Consider which way your rooms are facing, and at what point during the day they will catch the sun.
· If your natural lighting isn’t very favourable, try placing mirrors around your home to reflect the daylight and create a brighter feel.
· Experiment with LED lights, which are very cheap to run as they use less electricity than traditional bulbs. They also have a longer lifespan, and come in a range of warm or cool colours, which can help to create atmosphere and mood in your home.
· Make sure that areas where tasks are undertaken are well-lit, such as kitchen countertops or desks for homework and study. Table-top lamps or strip lights installed under your upper cupboards are ideal for this.
· Use softer lighting and warmer colours in areas for relaxation and conversation, like the dining room and the living room. Consider candles - artificial or real - to give a gentle, cosy warmth to the space.
· Think carefully about the direction of your lighting and the placement of your fixtures - uplighting, wall sconces, central pendant lamps, or strip lighting all have different advantages and disadvantages.
---- Jessica Walter ----