Winter Lighting Tricks To Chase Away The Blues

If you want to brighten things up a bit this winter, here are some room-by-room tips to ensure you create a warm and welcoming home.

When winter arrives, we all brace ourselves for months of grey skies and short days. The change in the weather brings new lighting needs, which means it’s a great time to show clients how lighting upgrades can brighten the mood during the gloomiest months of the year. Whether you offer to create a lighting plan, or to simply thrash out a few ideas for what’s possible, here are our top picks to help transform those dull interiors into a cosy winter sanctuary.

Hallway

Often overlooked, a hallway is usually the first space you encounter and therefore it sets the mood. Create a sense of drama by installing adjustable downlights, such as Pierlite Dark Downlight range, near any artwork. Alternatively look at how wall mounted options can wash walls with soft, ambient light. 

Kitchen, dining and living rooms

The shared spaces of the home often need additional lighting for longer during winter. That means clients could be keen to find energy efficient solutions, and a dozen downlights arrayed across a ceiling can be both energy guzzling and banal. Aim instead for a combination of wall lights, strategically placed cabinet lights and feature lighting to brighten things up nicely. Check out Lumex LinearQ LED Battens for an unobtrusive option, or consider a track lighting system that directs light where and when it’s needed most.

Bedroom

Lighting in the bedroom needs to be versatile enough to support a range of uses. Try options like wall lights, or strategically placed pendants for bedside task lighting, along with downlights installed near mirrors to make a bedroom’s lighting scheme both functional and inviting. It’s a great opportunity to try a smart system too, that will enable your client to program their lighting to suit their mood. 

Outdoors

Artful (and strategic) use of outdoor lighting is a great way to avoid cabin fever. There are practical requirements, like path lighting and energy efficient sensor lights to be explored, but it’s also an opportunity to consider aesthetics. For example, spotlights can show off a feature deciduous tree or two, and recessed lights in paved areas can help maintain an indoor-outdoor connection even when everyone’s stuck inside. Lumex’s NovaRay portable floodlight will make spotlighting architectural garden features a cinch, while Crompton’s Hornet 20W LED floodlight offers an energy efficient, slimline option that’s designed to disappear beneath eaves.