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Your sight can make or break you. 2.2 billion people throughout the world have vision impairment. Even people with 20/20 vision need adequate lighting so they don’t lose their vision or have eye pain.
That’s why room lighting is so important. You must take steps so each room in your house has adequate lighting. With windowless rooms, you need to take several different steps.
What kinds of lights should you have in your room? What fixtures should you select, including for bedrooms? What else should you add to your room to make your space more comfortable?
Answer these questions and you can give yourself plenty of light to see and live. Here is your quick guide.
The key to lighting windowless rooms is to mimic sunlight. Your eyes have evolved to use sunlight, which means that artificial lights can be irritating or glaring.
You should try to adjust the brightness and color temperature of your bulbs over the course of the day. You can mimic the sunlight in the morning by using cool, blue light. As the day progresses, you can use warmer lights, akin to the orange light at sunset.
Modern lighting involves three layers of lights. Ambient lighting fixtures provide overall illumination for your room, allowing you to see the furniture inside of it.
Most ambient fixtures are overhead ones, though you can use floor lamps to illuminate far corners of your room. Pendant lights are basic fixtures that don’t take up much space on your ceiling. If you want to call attention to your fixture, you can hang up a chandelier or a ceiling fan.
Task lighting fixtures provide light for tasks in particular areas. In your bedroom, you may want a task light over your writing desk or your nightstand.
The fixtures are small, giving you enough light to do what you need to do. Pendant lights can also work as task lights, though many people like table lamps in their bedrooms. If you have a mirror in your room, you may want to install a mirror light over or beside your mirror.
Accent lights highlight areas of interest, such as artwork and pieces of furniture. They are designed to call attention to these areas, so the bulbs in these fixtures should be brighter than your other bulbs. Rope lights, track lights, and wall sconces are good choices.
In addition to the three main layers, you may want to add a layer of perimeter lights. Perimeter lights help your visitors navigate through your room. You should add them if your room is very big or contains a collection you want to show off.
Once you have your layers of light set up, you should take a few extra steps to light your space. Though these steps are not necessary, they can make your room less imposing and more comfortable.
If your room has cabinets or shelves, you should put LED strips on them. The strips serve as task and accent lights, helping you find things in your cabinets and calling attention to the cabinets. You can use whatever colors of light you want.
You can also place strips behind a television or computer. These strips will bounce light off the wall, which can make the light from your device less damaging to your eyes.
Light can bounce off a mirror and make your room seem bigger. You can place a small mirror on a desk or shelf, or you can hang up a large mirror. Large rectangular mirrors can replicate the look of windows, adding life to your space.
Your lighting works in conjunction with the other parts of your room. Dark colors absorb light, making a room less visible. Bright colors reflect light, so you should try to keep a room with no windows bright.
At the same time, a white ceiling or wall can look bland. You should paint your surfaces with pastel tones or cream-like colors.
You should also select furniture with the same colors. Light wood furniture absorbs a small amount of light, allowing you to see the furniture without issue.
If you have a very large room, you can paint one wall with a bright color. This will make the neutral wall on each side seem longer. If you don’t want to paint the wall, you can use LED strips or bulbs to shine bright colors on it.
Besides mirrors, you should shine your lights off of other reflective surfaces. You can use glass bowls to store objects and reflect light into the corners of your room.
If you’re not interested in painting your walls, you can hang up wallpaper with a metallic finish. Try to find wallpaper that resembles natural wood or has basic geometric shapes. This can make your room seem bigger and add a woodsy aesthetic to the space.
Plants can add pops of color and sheens to your room. Spider plants and ferns can live with small amounts of light, but you can also put plastic or silk plants in your space.
Room lighting is tricky, especially when you are lighting a room without windows. Recreate sunlight by adjusting the colors and brightness of your bulbs during the day.
Create at least three layers of light, and add perimeter lights to big rooms. You can also add little strips and bulbs to highlight important areas like shelves.
Make sure your light reflects off of your walls and furniture. You can add glass and metallic pieces to your room to make reflection easier.
You’re not alone looking for great lights. Wilbur Davis Studios provides premium lighting fixtures. Browse our shop today.