Fall Lighting
It’s that pumpkin spice time of year when your home fills with warmth and coziness as you start planning for the upcoming holidays.
Amid all the typical fall preparations, tasks on your to-do list might include replacing summer flowers with outdoor fall décor and stocking up on firewood for backyard bonfires.
An important but often overlooked task is thinking about how to update your home’s lighting for fall. It’s actually easier than what you might be envisioning! You can create warm, cozy and inviting spaces—both indoors and outside—with just a few quick, simple and affordable lighting tricks.
Changing up Your Fall Lighting
The smart solution is to carefully look at your home’s current overall lighting plan, then decide what updates make the most sense for you and your family. It’s a safe bet that you’ll probably be making a few minor adjustments both indoors and outside.
Brighter Lighting for Darker Days
One of the most practical reasons to refresh your home’s lighting is the fact that there will be less natural daylight as fall progresses. As Daylight Savings Times comes to an end, most people return to standard time.
Want your home to remain bright? First check the light bulbs in your most commonly used indoor lamps and accent lights. You may need to replace them with brighter LED bulbs that emit soft, warm white light. Next bring in an extra lamp or two. Aside from adding style to your home, this is another great way to increase light output.
Brighter illumination throughout your home will help prevent eye strain when reading, working, and doing countless other household activities. Plus, studies show that light can brighten your mood! This is especially helpful during autumn, when the hours of natural sunlight will continue to diminish.
If outdoor spaces such as walkways, steps, and porches seem to be becoming too dark at night to navigate, you should consider installing pathway lights, step lighting and accent lights to keep these areas safe and well lit. If you already have outdoor lighting, check that the system works properly and provides enough illumination at night. Adding a few extra spotlights is worth it, especially if the additional light helps visitors safely see where they’re walking.
Subtle Lighting Changes
Before your family starts spending most of their time indoors, make sure that each area of your home has an appropriate amount of light. If your living and family rooms feature multiple light sources, you can create coziness and maximize brightness by simply adjusting the subtle layers of light.
Dimmable LED bulbs placed in ceiling or recessed light fixtures provide the ambiance you want for cozy fall evenings. Floor and table lamps can help brighten your space by simply moving them to a different corner of the room. For lamp lighting that’s flattering, warm and bright, try using LED bulbs with 2700K or 3000K ratings.
If you have a home office or craft room, or if your kids have a workspace in their bedroom, you may want to invest in a few task lamps. Task lighting provides increased, concentrated light for specific activities. This type of lighting is not only helpful, it’s necessary to see properly when there isn’t enough bright natural light.
Now what about outside! Are your outdoor lights set to turn on with a timer? If they are, you may want to adjust the time to correspond with the decrease in daylight hours. Because your exterior lights will remain on longer, check the bulbs to ensure they’re energy efficient LED. This will help keep your energy bills down!
Updates to Fit Your Aesthetic
Everyone has their own favorite thing about fall. For a lot of people, that favorite thing is decorating. If you spend summer browsing online for fall decor ideas or shopping for outdoor fall decor, you should make sure you have enough spotlights or accent lights to illuminate your porch displays, door wreaths and lawn decorations.
If warm and cozy for you means relaxing with family around a backyard bonfire, you have the right kind of fall vibes! Make your outdoor patio space more inviting with energy efficient fall LED lights. Plus, don’t forget to keep your bonfire or fire pit area well lit and safe with the proper amount of outdoor lighting around the perimeter.
For cold fall nights, check your reading lamp before opening your book. Even if you have the right LED bulb in your lamp, the light may appear dim if your lampshade is a dark color. A quick fix is to simply swap the shade for a white or off-white one to ensure the proper brightness for reading.
