Mood lighting is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal to turn your house into a home. It's the best way to create an atmosphere, to manipulate the ambience, to set the tone of the space.
It's about layering your lighting and having multiple sources of soft lighting throughout the room. Calling in the help of lamps, wall lights, ceiling lights and maybe even a candle or two, your space suddenly transforms and is super customisable depending on what mood you're looking to create.
This isn't about what your big light can do, this is about how you can bring in secondary lighting to compliment it or act in its place when the vibe's just not very blindingly bright.
Your options when mood lighting your home are limitless.
It's all about the mood you're trying to achieve and what you're willing to do to achieve it. Keep in mind the idea of layering light and bring it down from the ceiling, as low as you can.
Starting out, especially in a room with less functional needs, like a living room, you can start off with your ceiling lighting. You've got the unique opportunity to not have to worry too much about the actual light that will be cast in a living room, it's probably more important how snazzy the fixture looks in the room. After all, in a living room with good mood lighting you're probably going to be lit up by either natural lighting or mood lighting most of the time.
The next layer would be wall lights or floor lamps, these lighting options will add a layer of light around eye level in the room and will do a lot to pick up features around the room that you might want to shine a light on.
If we drop a little lower, here comes table lamps. One of the best mood lighting options because in the evening they'll cast a warm glow throughout the room but during the day they still stand as a statement decor piece. Any mood lamps at all are sure to elevate your space instantly.
Then there's the final touches, these are lighting pieces that can be draped, popped or stuck anywhere you want them. They might even be a touch of novelty. Whether you're a string light, neon sign or scented candle lover these little touches of light will make your home the cosiest you've ever seen it.
The room is your oyster, this is all up to you and is about what makes you feel the most relaxed and at home. If you're someone that's after a little bit of brilliant guidance to get your imagination shining then look no further, we're full of ideas.
You want to keep your ceiling light central to the space, specifically the space and not necessarily the room. Lighting in a large room can play the very important role of mapping out dedicated spaces within a room. For instance, if you've got an especially large room with the dual purpose of living and dining room then placing two ceiling lights in the centre of each section of the room really helps to separate them. So be mindful.
Wall lights are good anywhere but if you happen to have a feature wall with some expensive wallpaper you don't want to lose in the dark, then using wall lights on that wall will keep it being impressive around the clock.
Similarly, using wall lights to draw extra attention to art, pictures or even plants that you've got around the space doubles down on decor. Floor lamps do a similar job but instead of drawing attention to the wall bound decor you've chosen it can create shadows and make a feature of the corner of a room. Floor lamps are also a great option if you're looking to incorporate some slightly brighter or adjustable task lighting to the space
Table lamps offer a placement suggestion in the name. End tables, coffee tables, console tables, side tables, four legged tables, three legged tables! ... the list goes on.
The final touches here are just as customisable and are really about what surfaces you've got left to decorate. Table tops, window ledges, fireplaces - all good places to pop little glowing goodies. String or fairy lights have even less restrictions, whether you're wrapping them around bannisters, filling fish bowls with them or covering every inch of your walls... Light up your life!
If you're looking for a one stop shop for your lighting, that's us. And if you're looking for a one stop shot at mood lighting then maybe a dimmer switch is perfect for you. As much as lighting is our passion and we love multi level mood lighting, we also understand that not everyone is quite as enthusiastic about it as we are. That's okay, and it shouldn't mean you have to spend your evening missing out on ambience!
Installing a dimmer switch to your ceiling lights or a token floor lamp gives you the freedom to customise how bright the lighting is without having to curate a whole collection of different types of lighting around the room.
Dimmable lighting could also be a great option for your bedside lamp, giving you total freedom to crank the brightness up to task lighting level or tone it down to set a relaxing or romantic glow.
Brightness is a big part of mood lighting, but it's not the only thing worth considering.
Bright white lights have their place in the home but it's not in your mood lighting set up. Coloured lighting choices have quickly become all the rage and it's blindingly obvious why.
Chromotherapy (aka colour therapy) is based on the idea that colours and light can be used to treat minor ailments and bring on certain moods.
Red light has proven itself to be the colour of socialising and conversation and even boost your appetite. So, if you're looking for the perfect next level mood lighting for your next dinner party and the following late night conversations in the kitchen then a red light might be just the thing.
Blue light is the calmer hue and will be most effective in rooms that you use for winding down like the lounge or bedroom. Possibly even in the bathroom for the next time you want to wind down in a nice, long, bubble bath.
Green lighting is one more with a calming effect, it reduces stress to the eyes and is ideal for a home office, lounge or bedroom for those late nights spent reading.
Purple lighting will get those creative juices flowing, a good one to know for the artists among us. Remember, creativity flows through into many tasks so whatever makes you feel most creative could benefit from a purple haze.
White and yellow lighting is the most commonly used and can give you that energy boost, that get up and go. They're a good all rounder and they're handy to have around. So don't ditch them for a multi coloured installation throughout your home. Consider getting coloured lights in the form of table lamps, string lights or neon signs to double them as decor. Alternatively, if you're feeling high tech, then have a look into smart bulbs that can boost your mood in any direction with the wave of a remote of the click of an app.
One thing’s for absolute certainty – mood lighting levels up how homely your place feels, and you deserve to feel at home.
