Making the most of your home interior environment – Lighting

Spending most of our time at home during this strange period of isolation is testing many of us in so many ways. It’s easy to let the mental ups and downs take over if we can’t get motivated to fill the time positively and maintain a routine. One of the many different factors that can influence our motivation as well as mental and physical well-being is the quality of environment we’re living and working in. Stop what you are doing for a moment and have a look at the room you’re in right now. Are you comfortable? Are your surroundings good to look at? If you are at your computer or tablet what can you see when you look away from the screen periodically? Is the light level around you too dim? Can you see a garden or plants from where you sit? Are you even getting anything done?

photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

The way we feel in a space whether its at work or at home is influenced by many things. If you’re getting fed up with your surroundings or just feel that something’s not quite right and want to make some improvements here are some points to think about:

Daylight in Living and Work Interior Spaces –

The right amount of illumination – daylight and artificial light – is critical to our life indoors. It’s impact on our physical and mental health, mood and productivity is far reaching as explained in this article.

Try these simple tips to improve your environment:

Daylight is best – Remember that daylight is always better than artificial light. We evolved under the earth’s natural rhythms of night and day. Daylight helps us to regulate our body clocks and aids the body’s process in producing vitamins. It consists of a full spectrum of colour and will always be brighter and more natural to our eyes than artificial light so maximising it indoors is important.

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Unsplash

Daylight is free – It makes energy saving and financial sense to use daylight as much as possible……and it helps the global environment too by reducing electricity consumption.

Let daylight in – In daytime make sure your indoor spaces, particularly the main living areas and home office are bright enough. Do not underestimate how insidiously gloomy light can bring your mood down. Curtains should be completely open and even tied back if it increases the daylight. There are numerous ways to do this and lots of lovely tie back accessories on the market. Have a look at these ideas or simply create your own unique way of doing it.

photo by Manuel Meurisse on Unsplash

Blinds should be open and fully raised unless the sun is shining directly in your window. There are plenty of different styled blinds on the market many of which allow control of light without cutting it out altogether; venetian blinds, double roller blinds, shutter blinds are all great for controlling sunlight without blocking it out completely.

Can you see clearly through the windows? – If possible, make sure that any obstructions in front of windows, inside or outside are removed and the glass is clean. It’s really worth getting a window cleaner to do the outside on a regular basis.

Windowsills are perfect for a vase of flowers or other decorative feature but it’s best to follow the ‘less is more’ principle and don’t overdo it. One or two favourite artefacts or photos will enhance your surroundings rather than an annoying mess of papers and books that distract you from enjoying the view.

photo by Nathan Fertig on Unsplash

So hopefully this will give you some food for thought to improve your home or work environment lighting. If you would like more help with solving your interior design challenges, please get in touch.

Look out for my next blog which will focus on artificial light and how to make the most of it in your home.