The way we light our homes helps us to create moods and atmospheres of comfort. There are lamps of every size, shape and color, to help us to choose what is best for our rooms. Creative lighting enhances your living spaces by creating different moods such as relaxation, romance or festive. Here are a few thoughts on lighting your home in different ways than the usual desk or floor lamp.
Strings of mini lights
Also known as Christmas tree lights, strings of these make wonderful accents for weddings by putting in trees, on room screens or along the edge of your ceiling, to give a pretty glow to the room. If there’s a large mirror in the room, the light will be increased even more. White lights or colored, whatever effect you’re looking for, these little lights are a fun way to accent for parties as an alternative to themed party lights.
Spotlights
Whether indoors or outside, spotlights shoot light exactly on whatever you wish to highlight. Uplighting is a dramatic and elegant effect, which involves pointing the spotlights upwards. Places like Walmart have inexpensive spotlights in the lightbulb section, that double duty as plant lights. Just put them wherever you like and angle the light in whichever way suits your needs. It’s definitely a good thing.
Nightlights
If you have children who are afraid of the dark or just like a little light to see your way in the hallways at night, there are nightlights to suit any taste. Most of them give a mellow glow, but enough light to help you see your way in the darkness. Sharper Image makes really nice, contemporary nightlights that plug into any wall outlet, and will change colors gradually. You can even set the light to whatever color you like the most, so it is adjustable. I keep one in the bathroom and another in the kitchen, just to give subtle lighting if the lights are off.
Accent Lamps
This kind of lamp is on the smaller side, and is used to brighten corners or other areas that don’t receive enough light. They aren’t strong enough for reading, but give off a pleasant glow. Hand-blown shades such as those made by the American glassmakers at Lundberg Studios are lovely accents, and look beautiful even when turned off. They remind me of paperweights, as the two I have are similar in pattern to them. Other kinds are a small torchiere light that shoots light upwards, with usually an Art Deco Base. They make for an interesting lighting effect and give off slightly more light than the ones shaped more like traditional desk lamps.
Novelty Lamps
There are a large variety of lamps that don’t fit into the traditional lamp category. For example, lava lamps (a trend dusted off and brought back from the 1960’s,) lightening lamps (can be bought in science stores and look like discs with little bolts of “lightening” inside them,) party lights, disco light ball, and many more. Since there is such a broad scope of them, they have multiple uses. Most of the time, they are used for entertainment or party purposes. I have a lamp whose moving lights fascinated my deaf cat so much, I put it on display where he likes to rest, so he can sit and watch its patterns dance back and forth. Deaf pets may be more in tuned to shapes, lights and shadows since the senses other than hearing are more heightened than others. Anything with dancing lights gives my high strung cat some fun, and keeps him calmed down.
Along with all these lamps are the more well-known desk and floor lamps. Choose whatever kinds that suit your needs, whether contemporary or classical. Lamps can add much interest to boring rooms, and give us illusions of romance, peace and relaxation. Whether you enjoy minimalist, primitive or stained glass, take a long look at different kinds of lighting before committing to buy. When buying expensive lamps, I make sure to check as many options as I can, before buying, since it’s an investment and they’ll be with me for a long time. Look at homes of those with rooms decorated by designers, and you will see that lighting is carefully chosen to accent the rooms. If, like me, you don’t want to hire a designer, then do a little research and soon, your rooms will look like you hired someone. It’s up to you whether or not you divulge your little secret or not. I sure won’t tell.
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