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Owners of a new build home may find it challenging to create a homely atmosphere – even if they possess ample imagination.
Visiting the nearest hardware store to sift through paint swatches could lead to frustration, as you can’t go straight at your new build walls with the paint brush. After all, the home itself will have absorbed water from the build, and the process of drying out is slow – taking up to a whole year.
Another factor making it difficult to shape the character of your new home is that its lighting will most often come in the form of built-in ceiling lights. Compared with more unusual lighting, basic recessed lighting can feel impersonal.
The good news, however, is that you are working with a blank canvas. The pared back design of a new build provides the chance to create your own bespoke lighting scheme, or to hire an expert lighting designer, and begin to give your home that personal touch.
Making your home feel homely
Since well-designed lighting does a lot of the heavy lifting in imbuing a property with warmth and atmosphere, we recommend careful planning. Purchasing well-made lighting that’s built to last will also ensure that your energy bills and carbon footprint remain as low as possible.
When you’re designing the lighting for a particular space or area, it’s important to consider the intended use or function of the space. Start by asking:
How will the space be used? Will any of the spaces serve dual purposes at different times of the day, for example the breakfast bar, which may be used as both a dining area and a place where the kids will do homework? Will your spare room also pull double duty as your home office?
- Who will be using the room? There are special considerations to be made for the eyesight of children; and, generally speaking, over 60s need far more light than youngsters. For more on lighting for children’s rooms, see our blog post here.
- What furniture, architectural features and artwork are planned for the rooms? What pieces will you potentially wish to illuminate?
- At what time of day will the rooms be occupied? Rooms in which you plan to relax during the evening should be set with a dimmer to give a more laid-back feel.
- Finally, have you considered where the natural light will enter the room, and from what direction?
Gwyn Carless at the Light Yard director Jeff Fuller says, “No matter what look you want to bring to your new home – from designing an entrance with real wow factor to creating a dramatic dining table setting to bringing a cosy glow to a reading nook – nothing replaces the impact of well-thought-out lighting.
“Personally, I love a series of exquisite pendant lights spaced in regular intervals over the kitchen island, as well as schemes that use dimmable task lighting to devise dual-use spaces in homes. Owners of new build homes can let their creativity run wild, and many of them do!
“At Gwyn Carless at the Light Yard we also have an in-house design service, so we are a real one-stop shop when it comes to lighting a new build home.”
For more information on our lighting design service, visit thelightyard.com. To speak to a member of the Gwyn Carless at the Light Yard team, call +44 (0)330 223 3940.
Images provided courtesy of Arek Socha and giovanni gargiulo from Pixabay
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