Why do you need a refresh?
Have you finally decided that your home lighting needs a refresh, but you simply don’t know where to get started? Well don’t worry, The Lighting Company has you covered. To understand how to refresh your home lighting, we first need to look at why it is necessary to do so. So let’s have a look at some of the most common reasons your home lighting may need a fresh new look.
3 Reasons you should refresh your home lighting
1. Your lighting needs an update. Is your lighting not matching your home decor? Is your lighting outdated or do you simply get no pleasure from your current scheme? Have the kids moved out and now you need to reinvent a room?
2. Your lighting is no longer practical. Your room is not getting enough light to showcase your home or maybe your lighting is not spread evenly.
3. You want to showcase your home in the best light. Maybe it’s time to invest more in your home’s aesthetics. Or maybe you want to create a wow factor next time you’re hosting an event.
These are all great reasons to mix up your home lighting and refresh your space. So let’s explore.
Refreshing your home because your lighting no longer matches your home decor.
Often lighting gets overlooked when refreshing your home decor. You have invested in new furniture and homeware but now your lighting does not match. Your old wall light does not compliment your new patterned wallpaper and your ceiling pendant doesn’t create the wow factor it once did – as other statement pieces have taken over. Well now you know it is time to update those lights.
First, I want you to ask yourself what you want your new lighting to achieve. As you have spent so much time, effort and money in refreshing your home decor, do you want your new lights to complement the scheme, or do you need a new statement piece to become the focal point of your room. Do you want an up to date lighting scheme that fits in with modern trends or are you simply bored of your existing lighting plan? Maybe you are repurposing an old space due to a lifestyle change or significant event and you want your new lighting to represent the new you.
Depending on where you are in your home refresh, it is important to stick to a theme or ‘interior trend’ in order to keep your home looking balanced and stylish. Whether you have decided on your interior trend or not, I suggest taking a look at our handy Lighting Trends Page to either find a scheme that suits your style or to find lighting that matches. This page will also provide insight into new and exciting trends that are making their way into homes around the country, so make sure you keep this page in your bookmarks!
Maybe you have realised that lighting is far more than simply functional. Lighting fixtures have evolved into more than just a means of lighting your home, and it’s time to capitalise on the styles and aesthetics of modern lighting. It’s great that your current lighting plan is functional, but you want more than that. I cannot emphasise enough that your lighting needs to fit your home and your personality – so make sure that you spend some time finding the right lights for you!
Another great reason to refresh your home is due to a significant life event. Maybe your children have moved out and you want to reinvent a room – turning a bedroom from a teenagers haven into something a bit more acceptable for any guest. Or maybe you are now working from home and you need your home to reflect a relaxing and positive environment.
Refreshing your home because your room is not getting enough light.
You may be at the end of your home refresh. You have all your lighting in place and… oh dear, you forgot to light your room correctly. This isn’t one of those things that you learn to love over time – it is something that is obvious straight away, and something you need to fix as quickly as possible. There are a few different ways that you can improve your room lighting without too much hassle.
Light bulbs, lumens and kelvin.
The quickest (and probably easiest) way to improve the lighting in your room is to experiment with your light bulbs.
There are two major factors to consider when deciding on which light bulbs you need; lumens and kelvin.
Lumens is the amount of light output you get from the bulb. The range is from around 200 lumens up to over 1600. The lower end of this scale will give you soft, decorative lighting. This will never be enough to light a room sufficiently, so if you opt for this lumen output, you will need many additional sources of light, such as wall lights along with table and floor lamps.
In a sense, the lumens that a light bulb produces can be considered it’s ‘brightness’. Traditionally, how much light that a bulb produces was based on the wattage of the bulbs. However, a 60W halogen bulb could produce the same amount of lumens as a 15W LED bulb, so measuring the amount of light by wattage is no longer informative and can be misleading. So in came the Lumen system. A far more reliable measurement in how much light you should expect from your light bulb. Because we are moving into an LED led generation, here is a handy table that will help you understand how many lumens an LED bulb will typically produce based on wattage.
The general rule of thumb when calculating the amount of lumens your room needs is the area of your room in metres squared multiplied by 250. However, our good friend Ellie-D explains it best, so give this video a watch.
Kelvin is the colour temperature. Most of our light bulbs are 2700K which is a warm white. Below this number, you’ll get the yellow candle light tones and over this, you’ll get the crisp, blue-white hues.
Take a look at our bite sized video on Kelvins.
Furniture and room colours
So now you know what lumens are and generally how many of them you need to fill your room. However, it isn’t always that simple. It would be easier to light an empty white box than a black one – the same applies to your room.
Darker features absorb more light, so make sure that you account for this when deciding how much light your room needs. The same can be said for furniture. The more dark tones you place in your room, the more light will be absorbed and the darker your room will feel.
On the flip side, reflective furniture like mirrors are great at bringing more lighting into a room. Try and find the perfect line between light and dark to achieve a well balanced lighting scheme.
Lamps and light placement
For obvious reasons your light placement is very important when refreshing your home. Spread your light evenly and make sure that each corner of your room is lit effectively. If you are in a situation where all of your wiring is done, and you do not want to book an electrician for a second time, there are a few great options.
Lamps create a wonderful array of ambient light and with a large range of table lamps and floor lamps available, you can be sure to find one that fits your scheme perfectly.
Alternatively, plug in wall lights make a fantastic addition to any home and can produce a great range of light for your home.
f you would like to learn more about improving the lighting in a room and creating a lighting plan, we have a great blog that goes into more detail.
Refreshing your lights because… well… you want to!
There doesn’t always need to be a reason to refresh your home lighting! Maybe you simply want something new in your home to get excited about.
Perhaps you have a dinner party coming up and you think a new crystal chandelier would make a great impression. Some may call it vanity, we call it being proud of your home!
Turning a house into a home is no walk in the park, so when you get it right, it’s only fair that you should be able to flaunt it guilt free!
With social media continuing to be a large part of our lives, we are beginning to accept and encourage showing the world who we are and what we have. And why shouldn’t we be proud of our home? You have worked hard on turning your house into a piece of your personality, so let’s embrace it and show the world.
Investing money, time and effort into your home for a long lasting effect can be draining, but it is always important that you invest in your future when refreshing your home. Who knows, you may be relocating or renovating in the future, so making sure that you buy lighting that lasts makes a lot of sense.
This doesn’t mean you need to splash out on an expensive crystal chandelier – instead it means purchasing lights that will remain stylish for years to come. We always suggest changing your lighting plan every 5 – 10 years, so make sure you know you’re going to love your new lights in the future.
But what if you have read all of this and you still can’t decide how you are going to refresh your home?! Start simple! An easy fit ceiling shade or a new table lamp can transform any room and can get the ball rolling. The Lighting Company has a large range of easy fit ceiling shades available, that cover a variety of interior styles, budgets and colours. Best of all, they don’t need an electrician to install – saving you some extra money to spend once you’re ready for a full lighting refresh.