The winter months can take a toll on both our mental and physical health. Although there are numerous steps we can take within our homes to alleviate this, one crucial factor to keep in mind is lighting. The impact of lighting on your mood cannot be understated, it plays a major role in shaping not only how your home looks but how it feels. The temperature, brightness, placement, and different types of lighting create a lot of intricacies that can be quite challenging, leaving many homeowners feeling overwhelmed.

Types of Lighting

There are 4 main types of lighting that work together in the home. A balanced interior incorporates all 4 through a layered approach. Aim for 2-3 light sources per room. A general lighting plan for the living room could include recessed lighting overhead, table and floor lamps next to your seating, and decorative wall sconces to highlight a focal piece of artwork.

Ambient: Ambient lighting provides the overall illumination of a space making it your main light source. This includes overhead lighting like recessed, flush mount,and hanging fixtures. This can be considered the first layer of lighting and provides the overall ambiance of your space.

Task: The second layer of lighting supplies concentrated light to help you perform specific tasks, like illuminating your kitchen island, a reading corner in your living room or your bathroom mirror. Task lighting consists of your lamps, pendants and vanity lights.

Accent: Accent lights add that finishing touch to a space, working to enhance or highlight decorative pieces and features. While it can be functional, accent lighting is more about setting the mood. Accent lighting includes things like wall sconces and picture lights.

Natural: While you have the least amount of control with this type of lighting, it’s free and can save energy. South-facing windows get the most natural light throughout the day, while north-facing windows receive the least. Your east-facing windows will get the cooler, morning light and the warmer light will come from your west-facing windows with the setting sun. There’s nothing quite like sunlight to lift your spirits and energize your space, so take advantage of it the best you can!

How to Maximize Your Lighting

In addition to the light sources you have, there are several other factors to enhance the lighting in your home. To optimize natural light, ensure your windows are clean, opt for lighter window coverings, and arrange your furniture to avoid blocking incoming light. Paint colors can significantly influence lighting; lighter shades will bounce light around, while darker tones tend to absorb it, so a room painted in a dark color might require additional lighting compared to one with lighter shades. Thoughtful positioning of mirrors can also aid in reflecting light, illuminating your area more effectively.

Bulbs & Color Temperature

The type of bulb used can greatly affect the light fixture. In fact, we recently had a client claim that they weren’t happy with their new fixture, when turns out it was just the wrong bulb. When replaced with the correct type of bulb, they quickly realized that the fixture itself wasn’t the problem! Today, incandescent bulbs are obsolete because as of August 2023 the U.S. department of energy has banned the manufacture and sale of common incandescent light bulbs. The common misconception with LED bulbs is that they are too cool and harsh, but LED bulbs actually come in many color temperatures. This is where the term Kelvin color temperature comes into play. Kelvin temperatures that range from 2000-300K emit a warm white glow that ranges from orange to yellow white – these bulbs are best for the bedroom, living room and dining room. 3100-4500 gives off a brighter white light, better suited for kitchens, offices and other work spaces where more focused task lighting is needed. Anything above this is in the blue-white range, and better suited for commercial spaces rather than homes.

Lighting As Art

With so many styles and designs to choose from, your lighting can absolutely be more than just functional, it can really be considered a piece of art that adds to the design of your home. When it comes to lighting design that goes beyond function, our top pick is Hubbardton Forge. In fact, we like to refer to their products as illuminated art. Forged by hand in Vermont, their fixtures take on a sculptural quality with movement, like the Landscape LED Pendant I used in a recent project above the kitchen island. The beauty about Hubbardton Forge light fixtures is that they don’t even need to be on to appreciate their beauty. If you’re looking a stunning hand-crafted light fixture, check out their website at www.hubbardtonforge.com.