Your living room can be a pretty active area in your house — from being the go-to room for family activities and get-togethers, to being that cozy retreat you can relax in after a long day’s work. It’s fitting that a room which you’ll spend so much time in would be one that you will want to make sure looks nice—especially if you’re the type that likes to keep up with the Jones’. That’s why living room lighting is so important.
Granted, you can do a tremendous job overhauling a room with a simple coat of paint and a new color scheme…but have you taken lighting into consideration? You may have had your eye on a pretty peach color, but later be distressed to find that it comes out far more yellow than anticipated. But why is this? The problem may be that your current living room lighting scheme doesn’t match up with your décor.
To get a better grasp of what I mean, you have to first understand that light bulbs come not only in different shapes and sizes, but also colors—or rather, color temperatures. While some bulbs give off a yellowish hue like I mentioned above, others will help accentuate crisp colors and details. It all comes down to color temperature and making sure that you have the right bulb to fit your style.
If you’re more the type to have bright and vivid colors in your living room — the kind that jump out and make a statement — then you’ll want to have your living room lighting as true to the swatch as possible. This is where the “daylight” bulb comes into play. This type of bulb mimics natural lighting and gives colors their truest appearance possible, which would also be great for that peach color that didn’t turn out so well earlier!
Now let’s say that instead of bright and flashy colors, you’d much rather have a more relaxing retreat in your living room. Rather than being distracted by jarring oranges and greens, deep reds and browns are the colors on your palette that will set the mood. The “soft white” style bulb will be the perfect fit. It gives off a slightly yellow tint in its light, helping to highlight those deeper shades and bring a slightly more romantic ambiance to the living room lighting scheme.
Still not your cup of tea? Alright, well perhaps cozy is the key for you! Imagine your living room covered in crisp whites and subtle tones, adding just a hint of color here and there with light blues, greens and grays. This style is becoming more and more popular in contemporary décor and is brought to life by a cool style of bulb; “cool white” to be exact (also referred to as “bright white”.) This style bulb helps to highlight those blue and greens, helping to truly create the feel of ultimate relaxation and coziness.
So on your next visit to the swatch wall to pick out paint colors, keep your lighting scheme in mind and think of the feel you want to have in your living room. Taking just a few minutes to consider the right lighting can make a world of difference in how your room feels and how you feel about your room.
Jay Harris is a Home Depot sales associate and a regular contributor to Home Depot’s blog, where he provides lighting advice on electrical topics, including dimmers and LED light bulbs.
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