Today is the most depressing day of the year. Its said to be the day where the weather is awful, we have failed to keep our new year resolutions and we hit a slump after Christmas. You may have heard of term Blue Monday, well I want to talk about a campaign called Bright Monday.
In its basic form its about making people aware about how lighting is so important to us. Not just for creating the perfect ambient living space but also for our health and wellbeing.
Personality I know that my mood is effected by light. During the winter months if I don’t ensure that I have spent enough time in natural day light then I can feel very low, unmotivated and tired. On the flip side if I spend too much time in harsh lighting then I suffer with migraines.
Always invest in things that you use everyday. Yes I’m guilty of buying those designer shoes that have only been worn a handful of times but on the whole if its something that will be used all the time I really think about my purchase and always go for quality. I think about how it will be used within the home and who by. This was also reiterated in a design workshop that I attended last year.
I want to share some tips about lighting in various rooms of your home.
Living room.
The living room is very versatile and it really depends on how you use it. I think having a dimmer switch in this room where possible is a great choice. Meaning you can have brighter lighting for entertaining and lower lighting for relaxing and winding down. Maybe replace light bulbs with a low wattage to create a great ambience. Also try to fill corners of the room with light. Table lamps, fairy lights and candles are great for this. Also enabling you to light different spaces of the room depending on use.
Kitchen.
A place where bright light is really important, tasks like cooking and reading recipes are so much more enjoyable if you can see clearly! The great thing about the kitchen is you can add additional light in loads of places. Such as inside cupboards, up lighters on the top of cupboards, spotlights, down lights, the list is endless!
Dining room.
The dining room is often a place for entertaining and creating a great ambience is key. Using light over the dining table will create a focal point. A also its worth thinking about more intimate meals where low wattage bulbs would be more ideal. I have a little lamp on my bookcase, an uplight in my fireplace and fairy lights in metal baskets too.
Bedroom.
The key in the bedroom is to help sleep and relaxation. Mood lighting or warm lighting is ideal. Try to avoid any really bright lights. Think romance and candlelit dinners as your inspiration. You can purchase light bulbs that actually give off a warm glow.
Bathroom.
This room should be well lit and bright. Spot lights are fantastic because they can light up your whole face which is perfect if you use this room for applying make up.
Even just writing this post has highlighted to me where I need to make changes. I am often tired and in a low mood and this has identified some of the reasons behind that for me. (Some of the reasons are related to a small 3 year old that terrorises me!)
If you are thinking about evaluating your lighting options OSRAM are launching a new collection of light bulbs into Homebase at the end of this month
