Making the home beautiful is as important as keeping it as comfortable as it can be. For one, living in a cluttered space can aggravate stress levels aside from the fact that a lot of otherwise useful space is covered in junk. Second, rooms with bad lighting, awful color schemes, and rundown furniture will most likely make the area counterproductive. As such, it’s essential for homeowners to keep at beautifying their homes even if it takes effort, time, and a chunk off the budget.
One of the most important elements in beautifying a home is lighting. While this may not be known to many, lighting plays more than just simply taking the place of darkness in a room; ideally, it should also be able to enhance the best features as well as make the occupants as comfortable or as productive as they can be.
That said, being particular about the lighting set-up in your home is very important because it will allow your home to serve its maximum purpose. Here are some tips that you can use in planning and setting up your home’s lighting:
1. Know the different purposes of different types of lighting.
Buying a particular lighting fixture merely because it “looks” pretty is a common practice by many, but is actually wrong. Before you can be assured that you are buying the right type of light for the right purpose and for the right area in your home, you have to have some knowledge on the uses of ambient lighting, track lighting, and other lighting types.
2. Don’t set a generic lighting set-up for all the areas of home.
If you have mastered the previous tip given, then this probably won’t happen, but if it’s not out of ignorance then it might be out of laziness. Regardless of the reason, don’t make “uniform” lighting for your home, because each area has a specific purpose. For example, while amazing modern chandeliers might look good in your high-ceiling living room, they probably will make your tiny home office look and feel even smaller.
3. Always go for energy efficient bulbs.
When you say a particular bulb is energy-efficient, it means that it uses less energy for the same function other non-efficient bulbs serve. So since you utilize lesser energy, you can also expect lower utility bills. Not only are you helping in saving the environment — you’re also saving yourself some bucks!
4. Try to balance out the lighting in your home by combining different light fixtures.
Say, you’re setting up the lights in your home office. Of course you’d think that only track lighting is necessary since it is a work-oriented space, but know that in lighting rooms like this, the goal should not merely be to provide adequate lighting, but also to increase productivity and reduce stress levels. It has to be an area that is conducive for work, hence, adding ambient lighting will also be beneficial. Ambient lights will give a warm, relaxing vibe and when they are placed behind the computer monitor’s screen, they reduce glare, thereby minimizing migraines and eye strains.