As the days get shorter and the nights get darker, your choice of lighting is the key to making your home reach its maximum cozy potential. If you are most excited to host football watch parties or to spend a Friday night snuggled on the couch with your loved ones, there are necessary actions that are needed to reach your desired feel of the room. Lighting has the power to set a mood and enhance certain textures and elements in an area. We put together some tips to keep in mind while preparing for all that fall will bring.
1. Have Options
As the suns arc lowers in the sky during the autumn months, the intensity and angles of natural lighting can change drastically from day to day and even within a day. To increase flexibility to address these changes, consider how each area of a home will be used. Then create different options for lighting that can be used in combination to create a layered effect. For a subtle glow in the evening, as you’re winding down, table lamps may be all you need. To brighten up a gloomy day, turning on multiple options to create layered lighting may be your best bet (meaning table, floor, and wall lamps all used together). To avoid harsh lighting, mix up your light sources to take away from the dependency on intense, overhead lights. Layering your lighting gives you the flexibility to adjust accordingly based on what the day may bring.
2. Embrace Natural Light
It’s no secret that nighttime comes a bit quicker in the latter months of the year. Making the most of the scarce sunlight will be a great way to maximize your space’s lighting potential. Strategically placing mirrors in areas that reflect the light and will bounce it around the room, giving the illusion that there is more light than there is. Arrange the room so that there is a horizontal surface across from the window. For example, a buffet or a credenza. On that surface, place a table lamp and hang a mirror on the wall behind it, facing the window. During the day, the natural light from the window will bounce off of the mirror to reflect across the room, and the lamp will pick up where the sun left off when it goes down.
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3. Stay Warm
Staying warm, in this case, refers to two different things - keeping warm inside as it gets colder outside and embracing warm colors. The transition from summer to fall shifts the natural colors around us from bright greens and blues to more warm tones of orange and red. Switching from bright white light bulbs to warm ones continues this change from the natural world into the home. This simple switch can create an overall mood of relaxation in a room. Embracing the more orange undertones will create the illusions of a glow from a fire or candle, which then cognitively makes people feel welcome.
As the temperature outside becomes colder, we tend to spend more time enjoying our spare time inside the home in ways that warm us up. What better way to stay warm than to put on your favorite warm socks, grab a plush blanket, and read a good book? Place a tall floor lamp next to your favorite chair and make sure the bottom of the lampshade is at eye level to avoid straining your eyes. Similarly, place floor lamps beside a couch with a coffee table and a few chairs to create a welcoming conversation space. You can also set a floor lamp next to the television to reduce glare and ease the contrast, or next to a large plant to cast shadows beyond the leaves. Floor lamps are an easy solution to softening any area by giving it warmth and charm!
4. Dim it Down
A really great tip to lighting a space in fall is to follow the light of the sun. Layering your lighting, as mentioned before, is a great way to do that. In addition to layering, having light fixtures with a dimming function allows you to adjust to as much or little of a light that you want. Another way to dim your lights for fall is to get a statement fixture with frosted glass. This will soften up the intensity of direct light, preventing eye strain. By having this frosted glass statement piece be the direct source of light, the soft glow will shine throughout the room without being too harsh.
5. Get Holiday Ready
> With fall being right around the corner, the holiday season is quickly approaching as well. Whether you like it or not, it’s time to start thinking about everything the holidays will bring - which includes great food, our favorite fall sports, and all of the family get-togethers that you can imagine. Hosting functions seems to be an inevitable factor that comes with the season, and your house needs to be prepared for all of the possibilities that these functions will bring. Whether guests get so passionate about football that they decide to start their own game in the front yard, or the kids want to roast s’mores over a bonfire in the backyard after Thanksgiving dinner, the outside is just as important as the inside when it comes to lighting. Outdoor lights are crucial for both setting an ambiance for the evening and also to ensure safety while your guests are enjoying the cool, crisp evenings of fall. Layering lighting is just as good of a choice outside as it is inside to give you flexibility based on the circumstance. Recessed lighting, ceiling lights, and wall posts help illuminate an area overall as the sun goes down. Task lighting is helpful for entertaining spaces such as outdoor kitchens, bars, and patios. Posts are essential for safety to light a pathway and to set boundaries of usable space, which especially comes in handy with trick-or-treaters. When purchasing lights to place in your outdoor settings, make sure that the fixtures are weatherproof and meant to be outside to avoid safety hazards. Following these tips will help make the most out of your outdoor area for whatever the holiday season may bring!
Now that the heat of the summer is behind us and the changing of the leaves have slowly begun embracing fall with arms wide open will become a little bit easier if your house is already prepared ahead of time. Whether you are hosting large gatherings or cozying up with your loved ones, lighting has a significant impact on the mood each space. By keeping these points in the back of your mind as you are welcoming all that fall has to bring, you can spend less time worrying about a ready house and more time enjoying your pumpkin-flavored everything!