Wednesday, May 6, 2009

How Lighting Can Improve Your Well Being

By Tom Sanderrs

It is well known that many people suffer from the "winter blues." How you light your house can also affect your mood. One of the best things you can do to improve your home is to make it cheerful and livable. You can do this easily and relatively cheaply by upgrading your lighting fixtures.

The lighting systems of the past were simply not as bright or as efficient as today's options, so many owner's of older buildings upgrade their lighting fixtures so that they can benefit from technology and design developments.

One of the most common areas to upgrade lighting fixtures is in the kitchen. Older kitchens where equipped were fitted with just a single ceiling light that doesn't do a very good job. Adding some new fixtures can make the room safer and more appealing. Under counter lights can bring light to dark areas or you might like to try track lighting to illuminate you work spaces. By far, the best upgrade is LED lighting, which is far more efficient and reliable.

Sitting rooms tend to have dark corners that can easily be fixed with accent lighting. Spotlights are great for such rooms and table and floor lamps are also excellent for bringing light to where there was once dull looking areas.

Your bedroom should be cheerful but not too bright. Soft yellow, orange and pink lighting will create a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. Tiffany lamps are beautiful and uplifting with all their small colored pieces of glass. Ordinary table lamps will brighten the room as will track lighting in the corners. Hanging lights in the corners give light and look nice. Spotlights for pictures and ornaments can also liven up your bedroom.

Kid's rooms need to be bright and happy. Younger children will benefit from a dimmer switch that can allow them small quantities of light during the night and adjust to full light again in the day. As children get older they need different light accessories for things like study areas.

Bathrooms are another popular room to renovate and people can bring real functionality to what was previously a drab room. Instead of having the one ceiling light, why not try a combination of ceiling and track lighting. That way, if you want just enough light to have a warm shower very early in the morning you can. Let's face it, sometimes you just don't need -or for that matter want- the effect of a full light.

Experiment with different colors and designs to make your home more cheerful. Lights do not always have to be bright. Sometimes a subtle change in hue can make a large difference to a room. The choices are endless and you can always find ways to brighten up your home and make yourself feel better with new lighting ideas.

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