Even if it’s something as simple as adding a couple of lamps for accent lighting, changing the lighting is one of the best ways to make a room (or your entire home) more inviting. It enhances the mood and feel of a room, making it more cozy and relaxing, bringing out the color of furnishings, drapes and wall décor or making the room brighter and airier. Here are some ideas on how to change the lighting in your house and give it a quick makeover that doesn’t require a remodel:
Make the Most of Your Home’s Natural Lighting
This is a great starting point! Natural light has proven benefits for physical and emotional health – and can even help neutralize harmful bacteria.
So, throw those curtains open, pull those shades up and let the sunshine in!
You can also tint and diffuse that natural lighting with the right lightweight curtains or sheers, and help improve the mood and feel of a room.
When was the last time anyone walked into a dark closet or a darkened spare room and said, “I feel really warm and happy in here?” Probably never.
Add LED Lighting for Energy Savings
Some people don’t care for the “coldness” of LED lighting, but that’s changing as LED technology evolves.
Newer LED lamps offer the same sort of warmer, diffused light that we’re used to from incandescent bulbs. More importantly, though, LEDs offer a distinct advantage when it comes to your energy bills.
Incandescent bulbs waste about 80% of their energy through heat rather than light, and that adds up when several incandescent bulbs are throwing their excess heat into a room.
LEDs are much more efficient and will last several times as long as an incandescent bulb – and their prices have recently come down to the same price-point as incandescent lights were several years ago.
You can get creative with LED bulbs that are available in red, yellow, green, pink, purple, or blue!
Consider Other Lighting Arrangements
Track lighting, rope lights, floor lamps, swag lamps, pendant lamps and even Christmas lights can add indirect lighting options that can really change the mood and ambiance of a room.
Again, these types of lighting setups can really benefit from using LEDs rather than incandescent or halogen bulbs.
Think about how you’d like a kitchen to be illuminated (looking bright and open) rather than a living room or bedroom (warm and relaxing) and use your imagination and creativity to come up with the perfect lighting variations for each room.
Just remember that if you’re going to attempt new lighting fixtures, track lighting or other more involved options, it’s a good idea to call an electrician.
Many homeowners can confidently change a light switch, but things can get fairly complicated past that and you need to have the peace of mind of knowing that a job was done right.
Contact Hutchins Plumbing & Air Conditioning for an electrician in Plano, TX today!
