Good lighting is one of the best additions to any home, helping to not only keep the place visible and safe, but to make it feel fresh, clean, and avoid the uncomfortable feeling of sitting around in too many shadows. As we get into autumn and the darker parts of the year, it’s important to learn how to make use of your light as best as possible, as those darker days can take a real toll on our mood.
Maximise Your Natural Light
As the days get darker, you have fewer hours of the day when you can really enjoy natural light, but you can ensure that you’re able to use them as best as possible by inviting more of it inside. Installing new fixtures like big patio doors, especially large sliding doors or bi-fold options, creates a seamless blend between indoors and outdoors. Similarly, skylights can help you capture natural light from more angles, helping to keep the room brighter for even more of the day. During the colder months, natural light also helps improve mood and create a warm, cheerful atmosphere.
Ensure Light Isn’t Impeded
Getting light into the home is one thing, but helping it spread around is important, as well. First, make sure that you clean your windows, light fixtures, and lampshades, as dust, dirt, and block both natural and artificial light, making rooms look duller than they really are. Opt for window treatments that block less of the light, as well, such as blinds rather than big, heavy, opaque curtains. For a finishing touch, arrange furniture to avoid blocking windows and make sure blinds or curtains can be fully drawn back.
Layer Your Indoor Lighting
Given that we’re getting into the shorter days of the year, it’s important to note that you can’t rely on natural lighting as much as you did during the spring of summer. To that end, you need to learn to layer your lights indoors, too. A single overhead fixture often creates shadows and leaves spaces feeling flat. Instead, layer your lighting with a mix of ambient, task, and accent lights. Ceiling fixtures and wall sconces provide overall brightness, while desk lamps, under-cabinet lights, and reading lamps handle specific tasks. Meanwhile, accent lighting like LED strips or spotlights can add warmth and depth, or highlight focal points.
Use Bright, Reflective Decor
Your choices of decor can have a huge impact on how light travels through the home. Pale or neutral wall colours reflect natural and artificial light, instantly making rooms feel more spacious and uplifting. Glossy finishes on furniture, mirrors, and metallic accents also bounce light around, amplifying brightness without extra bulbs. Glass and crystal accessories, be they vases, chandeliers, or otherwise, can create a sparkle that gives the room more brilliance and vibrancy, as well. By choosing reflective or light-friendly decor elements, you can make sure that your home is brighter throughout the whole year.
Your home can feel entirely different when bathed in light as opposed to being steeped in shadow. Try out the tips above and see the impact they can have.
Because we live in a world where money is needed to survive, Latte Lindsay runs a number of affiliate programmes and offers contributed or partnered content. If you choose to click the links and read the posts, the site may earn a commission or receive a payment. All of the opinions are my own. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any partner brands/company(s), beauty & lifestyle brands, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities unless specified.