Better Lighting for a Better Home

Most people don't think about the lights in their home until it's time to change a light bulb or pay the electric bill but lighting affects more than what you see; it affects how you feel. Lighting can make you feel awake when you're tired, or calm when you're irritated. It can draw your attention, illuminating the things you most want to see or draw attention away from something you want to hide. It's an essential part of your home's interior decoration, so it's worth taking a moment to consider what you're doing and what you could do better.

Electricity

First, pause for a moment to think about where your light comes from. Odds are, it eats up a substantial amount of electricity, and that electricity may come from dirty or clean energy. To take control of where the electricity that powers your lights comes from, look up solar installers near me. You can also reduce consumption quickly by turning off lights that you aren't using and making better use of the natural light in your home.

Natural

Natural light is the ultimate when it comes to ideal lighting. Maximize the light coming through your windows with light colors on your walls, ceiling, and floors. Light colors, like mirrors, reflect light and brighten a space, where dark colors absorb light and darken a space, making it seem smaller. Bringing in as much natural light as possible and diffusing extreme sunlight with sheer curtains is a great first step towards improving the lighting in your home.

Color

While the sun puts out light in every color of the spectrum, it maxes out in blue and green wavelengths. While the sun appears white or yellow to humans, it is actually teal when compared with other stars. This is part of the reason why "sunlight" light bulbs often look more blue or white than you might expect. The color of artificial light commonly ranges from the warmer end of the spectrum with yellows and oranges to the cooler end of the spectrum with white and blue tones. White and blue-toned light tend to wake you up, while the warmer yellow and reddish tones tend to calm you down, like looking at a sunset. It's a signal to your brain that night is coming and it's time to go to bed.

Placement

Where you place your lights will depend largely on the function of the space and other constraints you may be working with. This goes beyond the basic practicalities of placing lamps or installing floodlights and combines with the basic theories of light color. You don't want to place a bright white color bulb in the bedroom where you're trying to sleep; those lights would work better in a  workspace like the kitchen, where you need to be alert and see everything clearly.

Smart Lighting

Like everything else, from your phone to your car to your electrical grid, lights are getting smarter. You may be asking yourself why a lightbulb needs to be smart. There are plenty of reasons. It can be a great way to save electricity. Imagine being able to pull out your smartphone and make sure that you turned off all the lights in your house before you left for vacation. It's also potentially great for people with seasonal affective disorder; artificial sunlight has been shown to help with seasonal depression. It can even help with insomnia. If all the lights in your home start automatically shifting from the cool end of the spectrum to the warmer end of the spectrum as evening approaches, that can help signal your brain to start putting out melatonin and get ready for bed.

It all comes down to this: interior design is meaningless if you can't see it properly. Paying attention to the lighting in your home is just as important as choosing the right couch and debating paint swatches. Good lighting can improve the appearance of your home and your ability to enjoy it.