The lighting in your home can make such a difference to the overall look of the place. It can affect how well things work, as well as the functionality of a room. If you’ve ever tried reading, writing or even cooking in a dimly lit room, then you’ll know what I am talking about. So when you get the lighting right, it can make such a positive difference. So if you don’t think that the lighting in your home is up to scratch, then there are plenty of things that you can do to change it. Here are some common mistakes that you need to look out for when it relates to the lighting in your home. Then you can make sure that you can make your home look as good as should.
Only Using One Light Source
When you only have one source of light in a room, it is never a good choice. One light in the centre of the room can’t reach all corners of the room. It also makes it hard to create different levels of light when you just have one bulb to rely on. So as well as a main light, there should be other options in the room. Floor lamps, as well as desk or table lamps, are a must too. It makes it easy to create ‘mood’ lighting, if needed and creates more of an atmosphere for a room. It makes the room much more functional too.
Not Maximizing the Main Light
Every room will have one main light source. And if things are designed well, there will be other options for the lighting in the room. But as well as wall lamps or floor lamps, it is important to make the most of the big main light. Quite often people just use a fixture with one bulb and a plain lampshade, if using a lampshade at all. But you want to make the most of the main lighting fixture. Choosing a fixture that has space for several bulbs will really make the light in the room pop. Or you could consider something like a funky pendant light fixture or a more classic chandelier light. It will make the lighting in the room a feature and will make it look much more striking. You could look somewhere like Noir Furniture for a striking chandelier light, for example.
Using Bulbs That Are Too Bright
It might sound like an odd complaint to have. But how bright a bulb is can really make a difference to the look of the room. When a light is too bright, it can be harsh and unflattering. So choose a sensible wattage for the bulbs. It could also be worth taking into consideration getting a dimmer switch. They make it easy to set how bright you would like a room to be. They are inexpensive and easy to install, so could be an easy fix for you.
Placing Switches Awkwardly
When you enter a room, there seems to be a natural place that the light switches should be in, right? I’m sure we can all think of an instance where we have been in someone’s home that we haven’t been to before. We want to go the bathroom or into the kitchen, but the light switch is in an odd place. When you have to search for the light switch, then you know that something is wrong. So if you have a few of the light switches like that, then it could be time to move them. It can be quite a large job to deal with, though. As the wires might need to be moved, which could involve chiselling into your plastered walls. It makes the home more functional, though, as well as being a small thing that people will look at when coming to buy your home.
Not Using LED Bulbs
If you are not using LED bulbs in your home, then that is an error that should be corrected. LED bulbs are great for several different reasons. First of all, they are the most energy efficient bulbs around. So using them can help your electricity bill for sure. Which in turn, helps not only the environment but your pocket. Another reason why LED bulbs are a good choice is that the quality or brightness of the light is not compromised. Many other energy efficient bulbs take time to warm up and don’t give off much light to start with. That is not the case with LED bulbs. They are also really good at lasting for a long time. Halogen bulbs have been popular in recent years, but they really do not last for a very long time. So you can spend a lot of money on them replacing them all the time. So LED bulbs are a good choice to save yourself some cash each year.
Not Lighting Small Spaces
Say you have got a dressing table or a wardrobe. It can make it much easier to use it for its purpose when it is well lit. Many of us make the error of not lighting the spaces in our homes that need to be. Our wardrobes are one of them. Is there a spotlight on your wardrobe, for example? Quite often, as they have in hotels, it could be a light that is specific just for that. Then you can light that space, without having to turn on the bright lights in the rest of the room on. The same thing goes for in our kitchen. Do we light the countertops with some strip lighting? It can make it much easy and functional to prepare food in that space when it is well lit. It wouldn’t take long to correct either. You’d just need to get some more wires feeding through to the new areas that you’d like to have lit. Then you can make the most of the space that you have.
Have you thought much about the lighting in your home? We can easily get used to it, even though it could be affecting our eyes and functionality of the home.
