The major part of our ‘desi’ lives that we have spent indoors has revolved around two kinds of lighting only. Tube light on kardo! Tube light off kardo! You would agree to it, won’t you? The fact, however, is that after interior and house décor, lighting remains as one of the biggest rooms to play around with. They can add moods to your ambiance yet keeping it very subtle. You are just a short read away to get your hand on skills which you can apply to add comfort to your spaces. You can elicit a wide range of emotional responses from romantic lighting to entertaining friends. From pre-bedtime rituals to welcoming guests. I suggest you plug in Bob Marley’s ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ and start sliding through, until you finish this blog, then put down your phone and look up to re-imagine your house lit with possible mood lighting ideas.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Crazy. Overdone. Lively. Dynamic. These are a few adjectives from a thesaurus of many that strike through my mind every time I go back in time to the very famous season of all times. F.R.I.E.N.D.S! All of us have one such gang whom we can be ourselves around. Bright light to keep the cheerful mood to the maximum cannot be compromised on. So while you have your friends around for some fun, make sure you set your light to brighter tones and greater intensities to encourage more activity.
Focus your lights on points of interest, at artworks, design elements, and textures. Playing around with tones of warmth like reds and oranges can add to the ambiance of togetherness. Not only does such lighting bring a room to life but also do wonders with your moods, mind, and well-being. Better selfies and photographs will come as a bonus because nobody wants to miss making memories with those pout faces!
Let me Guess. Guests?
People are naturally attracted towards illuminated areas and that gives you the advantage to use light as you lead guests into your homes. Entrances to your home are a great opportunity to welcome your guests and lighting those up differ greatly depending on time of the day. If you’re hosting guests at home during a sunnier time of the day, make sure your entrance isn’t dark as it takes a person time to adjust to contrasts. It can come as unpleasant if nothing at all. For guests hosted at evenings should not get startled either by brightly lit entrances as they transition from a darker outdoor into your home. Also, a darker lighting scheme can evoke the flow of comfortable conversation and relaxation.
Home-antic Dinners
What comes to your mind hearing of ‘romantic dinners?’ Fairy lights. Candles flickering on a table. Fire crackling from a fireplace. Dark spaces with faded lights and just the two of you sniffing in that chamomile blowing steam kisses on your faces. An intimate mood has a lot to do with bringing down the overall lighting levels and softening colors. For moments like these, a warmer, yellower, softer light is the best choice. Avoid red bulbs or anything that comes as tacky. Accents like candles, bare or inside hurricane lanterns can talk statements. Putting them on the walls or as center pieces on a table can greatly set the mood with a pinch of mystery added to your romantic dinners at home. After all soft-lit dining rooms encourage a person to eat well bringing alongside a sense of intimacy to any meal which means all that food you’ve cooked, gets eaten.
Gardens Glints
Good lighting in your garden areas sanctions you to spend more time in the open air, relaxing in your outdoor space whatever the time of day. Lights with hues of green or blue closely mimic the colors of nature and merge well with shadows. They add to the sense of theatre, especially where there is a water feature. The next time you are in your orchard, suit the garden lights to your needs and let your garden give the best to you.
Seasonal Mood Lighting
Our mood swings tend to come and leave just like seasons do. It’s important we shift lights with seasons and keep our moods uplifted. There is no escape to the fact that winters are bluer, harsh, very cold and darker. In such cases, lighting up your homes with tungsten lamps can keep you feeling warm and cozy at nights. For darker days, lamps that can mimic artificial sunlight can help you boost your serotonin levels to get going. Cooler lights for summers can set the mood otherwise.
Tuck into Bed Rituals
Light has a magical ability to help us into our own way towards a good night’s sleep. The cycles of nature are great teachers in that way. Daylight wakes us up into our active modes while the overshadowing darkness of the night naturally directs our bodies towards sleeping. Mood lighting works the same way. Reduced levels of light are a smooth way of getting into the snooze out mode. Place a lamp besides if you like reading a book before its left on your chest, open while you fall asleep. Indirect lighting is also one way I lit up my room for a peaceful sleep. Fix fairy lights behind your bed heads so they don’t show directly but throw light just enough.
For bedrooms with children, novelty lighting with a gentle emission of glow can bring a great sense of fun to their spaces while eliminating the fear of darkness in them which happened to exist a lot throughout my childhood. This brings me to my favourite ‘Tuck into Bed’ ritual remembering Ammi, turning off all lights, while her sore feet walked towards her night lamp, shift the switch to on and lie down with her ‘Urdu Rasala’ until it helped her transition from an eventful day to the tranquil and unruffled of rest. That’s all I remember until I slipped into peace sleeping onto her laps all those years.
That’s mine! Share your ‘Tuck Into Bed’ ritual in the comments section below.
Whatever you may choose; natural lighting or artificial, it stays an important factor to consider before decorating a house. Whatever the tones or colors you may choose, remember that it will greatly affect your experiences about being in it. Is it, in fact, believed that 90 percent of what you see is deciphered into sentiments and moods often without you being mindful of it?
Take more with yourself by reading hacks on maximizing natural light. Light living is happiest living!
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