For most of us, our houses are not just buildings; they’re our homes. With so many of us working from home, the boundaries between work life and home life have become blurred. Instead of being able to leave our work worries at the door before we come in, we carry them around the house. Sometimes it can feel like we don’t have a chance to switch off, often leading to burn out.

Changing seemingly small things around your home can make a big difference. Changing some of the lighting in common rooms and personal bedrooms can help create a space that is both visually beautiful and has a relaxed and inviting feel to it. Before you ask, no, you don’t have to change the built in lighting in your home to do this (unless you want to, in which case give us a call). 

Let’s quickly break down the different types of light and extra lighting fixtures that make a room better. 

Types of light

Natural light: any organic light that occurs naturally, such as sunlight, moonlight, starlight, and fire. Easy enough to find, just open your curtains in the mornings.

Artificial light: any light that relies on an external energy source (like batteries or electricity). This is where we come in. 

There are a few types of artificial lighting:

General lighting: Direct lighting from built in light fittings on the ceiling. It usually shines straight down as the main source of lighting in a room, and can be very harsh and uninviting. Generally used for every day functional purposes, such as bright kitchen lighting.

Ambient lighting: Indirect lighting that can also be the main source of light in a room, but is much softer than general lighting. It’s generally used in communal rooms where harsh bright light isn’t necessary, such as lounges and bedrooms.

Task lighting: Exactly what the name suggests. It’s purely functional, usually a spotlight of some type. E.g. a bright lamp used for studying at night or an overhead stove light used for cooking. Task lighting can also refer to placing floor lights in passageways for late-night walks to raid the fridge for a midnight snack or to wake up the family dog for some puppy cuddles (hey, lockdown has been challenging, okay… Midnight mental breakdowns are a real thing, and dogs make everything better.)

Mood lighting: No, this isn’t just used for romance. Mood lighting can be used to invoke any mood. Using soft ambient lighting in rooms, like a single floor lamp, can change the entire feel of the room. Mood lighting also refers to lighting that is a colour other than white or amber. Soft, colourful lights can often make a room feel more inviting. After all, who doesn’t want to sit on the couch surrounded by magical little fairy lights? 

Bring the magic home with home lighting

So, if you want to alter the feel of specific rooms, all you have to do is add a few extra lighting features to those rooms. This can be as simple as stringing up fairy lights, buying large floor lamps, or even replacing your current bulbs with a more ambient alternative. 

The most popular trend home lighting trend at the moment is stringing fairy lights up around your home. We’re 100% behind this trend—fairy lights for days. One of the best things about many types of fairy lights is that they’re battery-operated, so when load shedding strikes, you won’t lose your comforting mood lighting. Fairy lights are a great addition to kids’ rooms, as the colours can be changed. Small strings that have timers could even be used as nightlights for the little ones. 

In today’s world, we believe it’s more important than ever to find the beauty in the world around us. And if you can’t seem to find any, make some. Make your home bright, beautiful, or soft; make it whatever you need. 

We mean it, go wild! Hang all the lights! 

Create a space that sparks joy. 

If you are looking for more insights like this one, remember, Titan Electrical is your solution! Contact us today for Expert Electrical Service that Lights the Way.