This weekend, we had that lovely Daylight Savings take place in Canada!! And while I love falling back and gaining an extra hour of sleep, I hate how we lose even more daylight throughout the winter. Going to work in darkness, only to return in darkness starts to get pretty hard by March!! So, I thought what a better time than now to talk about lighting design in our homes.
Lighting is often overlooked when tackling interior design but it is so vital in creating a beautiful, functional space. On the one hand, the right lighting promotes productivity and on the other it makes us feel relaxed and comfortable. It helps define spaces and draws people together. Lighting affects how we perceive textures and colours and can manipulate the overall feel of a space. And lighting fixtures can simply be a showstopper – the focal point in a room! Here are some of my tips & tricks for lighting your home this winter.
First, Some General lighting tips
- How you physically feel in a space has mostly to do with the lighting
- More light isn’t necessarily better. Think more quality versus quantity.
- Good design is about matching light levels to the tasks being performed in specific locations – think a brightly lit kitchen island versus a lamp in your living room for reading
- Try to put light where it’s really needed and keep lower ambient light levels elsewhere
- Always think about both natural and artificial light when designing your space
(This gold chandelier becomes more than just a light source – it makes a beautiful statement and shows off the incredible ceiling height)
Layering Light is Best
Most people tend to rely on that darn ceiling light as their primary, if not only, source of light. The best thing to do in any space is think in layers. When it comes to lighting we look at 4 different types: General (can be a combo of all sources), Task (lighting a particular area where a task is performed), Accent (adding drama to a space) and Decorative (creative, theatrical, holiday inspired!!). The best lighting designs start with task and accent lighting – and sometimes end up not even needing that ceiling light at all!
Think About Colours
Ever do your makeup and think you look awesome, only to look in another mirror later in the day and be horrified? Yup! Colour rendering is important for choosing outfits, showing off beautiful meals in your dining room and even displaying that perfect piece of art! When you purchase a lightbulb look for the CRI (colour rendering index) and aim for 90 or higher! Lighting can also be warm or cool toned – think about how that can enhance or detract from your space…
Get To Know Your Bulbs
What you purchase in your local Home Depot can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your home – and can affect your energy costs. Here is a quick breakdown of some typical bulbs you would find…
- Incandescent – most like the sun, warm light, really typical in interiors, a 60 Watt will only last about 750 hours, the least energy efficient, the industry is starting to phase certain types of incandescents out. Best for floor or table lamps, chandeliers (Type C or B) or even kitchen pot lights.
- Halogen – has more hours than a simple incandescent, can get quite hot to touch, energy consumption is still high with a typical halogen lamp, warm light as well
- Fluorescent – energy efficient but not as good quality in terms of colour rendering, more of a cool light, can be dimmed but not very well, delayed coming on. Fluorescents tend to be better suited for areas that are not as important for task or mood lighting – think more so in garages, basements, hallways that don’t get as much traffic, etc.
- LED – expensive but last the longest and are the best on energy savings, typically makes colours look great, the industry is continuing to develop the technology – lots of incredible options coming out!
My vote – try and slowly change out your old incandescents for LED’s so the cost won’t be too big all at once.
Last but not least, vary the type of fixtures you have. All this week, I will be sharing some of my favourite lamps, pendants, chandeliers and more!! It’s a week of lighting!!
xo
Hi Kristina,
I randomly found your blog while looking for some inspiration for my condo and came across your post on how you decorated your home office. I fell COMPLETELY in love with how you styled it, and appreciate this post you have on lighting.
Unfortunately my den is tucked into a corner with no natural light. I have an overhead light, but don’t really know what to do with it. (I’m already planning to get the IKEA gold/white table lamp that you featured, though!) I’m a graduate student and am used to fluorescent and bright office lights to help stay awake and focused on those long and late nights. Any recommendations or suggestions?
Thank you so, so much in advance! Happy Easter long weekend! <3
Sarah
P.S. I'm a fellow Canadian as well, so I appreciate the fact that I can actually purchase products you've featured on your blog. 🙂
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for the comment! Love that you found the posts and found them useful. I so know that feeling of staying up and working on papers till the wee hours of the morning. Its a shame that you don’t have any natural lighting but you can definitely make some switches to help. Ultimately being exposed to dim light makes us sleepy so making sure that you can play with the levels of light in the room is important. Adding that task lamp will be great!(honestly love it!!) And I would recommend getting an LED bulb instead. I know you are used to fluorescent but studies show the less artificial feeling the better…Halogen will give you a bit of warmth that may make the space a bit more comfortable. The biggest thing I would suggest though is indirect light which can make a big difference for your productivity and alertness. It means a bright, almost daylight-like lighting environment, that still doesn’t strain your eyes with direct light. So think layering in your lighting: a floor lamp in the a further corner, a task lamp on the desk but pointed slightly off your workspace, another lamp on an end table, a candle or two, a coffee or two haha, etc. My teacher said that if you can avoid using the overhead light in most cases, then do it 🙂
Hopefully that gave you a bit more info! Email me if you want to keep chatting 🙂
xo