Are you in a light mood or in the mood for a light?
Either way, you need to consider residential lighting for your home.
Open up your home with our free guide to choosing and
installing residential lighting.
Residential lighting is a major contributor to the atmosphere and mood
of a room yet it is rarely given the importance which should be attached to it.
If residential lighting is included in the design and layout of a home, then the
property will stand out from those around it which have not had the same benefit
of aforethought.
Residential lighting differs from general 'lighting' in that it is illumination
provided beyond that which is strictly necessary to see during the hours of
dark. Here are some examples of residential lighting ideas applied - no doubt
you will be able to think of many more for applications in your own home.
Putting lights in front of a house welcome arrivals and guide guests off of the
property - very important if they are not frequent visitors. Soft lighting
alongside paths and the drive will encourage people to stroll along them and
open up parts of the garden which would otherwise be unwelcome at night.
Lights in the backyard have a similar effect. People will congregate wherever
there is lighting - a trait from our cave-dwelling ancestral past. Likewise, a
warm light encourages conversation and relaxation just as it must have done all
those thousands of years ago. Coloured lights around a pond or a fountain are
both extremely attractive and very practical - particularly if some of the
visitors are young.
Inside the home, well-placed up-lights and spotlights highlight paintings,
antiques, handicraft items etc which we like to view and others to admire. By
moving the paintings and ornaments around, we can create fresh background
stimuli and soft lighting can pick up details which our eyes would otherwise
have missed.
A dark corner suddenly becomes a much sought-after retreat for a glass of wine
and a good book if there is a simple spot or lamp provided. Parts of your home
that tended to be underused suddenly open up if residential lighting is used to
proper effect.
Choice of colour affects mood too so it is not just a case of putting in lights,
we need to consider their intensity, opacity and colour of each bulb too. For
example, if it is in the garden, a blue, red or green bulb can best highlight
our water feature but if it is for our easy-chair example, then pearly-white
light would be most pleasing to the eyes of the reader occupying the chair.
There is no doubt that residential lighting is a relatively quick and cheap way
of improving the value of your property even if any prospective buyers come
around in daytime, your efforts should still be obvious and they should come
away feeling that the house has been cared for and, because of the
well-thought-through illumination scheme, your home is bigger than it really is.
Even if you are not given to entertaining, your home will open up and be much
more a place of relaxation for you and your family. Now you all you have to do
is to go and choose some residential lighting!
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