Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a home. No matter where your home is located or how it’s built, nothing else can change its look more drastically than lighting can. Despite the contribution good lighting can have in making your home look and feel better, a lot of people tend to overlook its importance. If you light your home well, you will most likely not have to spend as much on other aspects, which is bound to save you a lot of money on excessive décor. With appropriate knowledge of how colors, shadows and highlights can impact a living space, you can use lighting to turn your existing home into your dream home.

One of the misconceptions about lighting is that it has to be expensive to look good – this is not true. Lighting on a budget is not only possible, it can give an impact similar to that of fancy LED bulbs and fixtures. Upgrading lighting in your home should certainly be a priority, even if you have subscribed to home repair plans.

Here are some ways you can enhance lighting effect in your home:

Paint the Walls

The color your home is more important than how much lighting you use. The color palette on which all of your walls and furniture are based is a key factor in how bright your home looks, which is why if you don’t want to spend too much money on artificial lighting, you may want to make sure that the walls within your home aren’t too dark. Choose colors that don’t absorb too much light – shades of pastel might be the best way to go in this case.

You don’t have to use too many coats of paint – only what is necessary. This is cheap enough if you have basic skills and can repaint your home by yourself.

Use Smart Lights Where You Can

Smart lights are a great way to add customized lighting to your home. It will save you a lot of money in terms of both electrical bills and variety, since you won’t have to purchase too many different types of lights. Smart lights allow you to control color and intensity of your existing bulb through an app in your smartphone, which is very convenient because you can alter light according to different occasions easily. You don’t need to use smart lighting excessively, so even if you can invest in a limited number of lights, paired with some other hacks, they should be able to do the trick.

Make Use of Natural Light

Natural light is by far the cheapest and easiest way to light any home – only problem is that solely depending on it can leave your home dark at night. Try to let in as much light as you can into your home during the day; this will ensure that less artificial lighting is required before the sun goes down. Use existing features of your home, such as windows and skylights, to enhance the look of natural light as it enters your home. This will make your home more ecofriendly, and it will  look beautiful at the same time.

DIYs

There are a lot of DIYs that you can use to create visually attractive sources of light for your home. You can do most of it with seemingly useless things in your home, like old Mason jars. You can buy cheap fairy lights, place them inside and hang it from the ceiling, which could make for a beautiful lamp. You can always create patterns on walls using neon strips, and use LED lights behind furniture and under the stairs for a more futuristic look as well.

Use Mirrors

Mirrors are one of the best ways to enhance the already existing light in your home. Pairing mirrors with natural light will make your home look much bigger, brighter and will eliminate the need for artificial lighting altogether – at least during the day.

Make sure you place your mirrors opposite to windows or any sources of light, so that they directly reflect it towards walls, or even other mirrors. Mirrors need to be large enough to have an impact on an entire room. Using greenery might help too. You can always use fake plants to brighten up the room and add a natural element to it.

Go Retro

If you’re someone who finds old lamps attractive, you may want to use them as a lighting source. They can add a rustic look to your place, and they won’t cost you much either. This could even provide a source of light in case of power outages, as they are completely safe from surges because there is no actual electricity being used. Candles and lanterns will also not consume any energy, so it’s a cheap and ecofriendly solution to all your lighting problems!

Conclusion

In order to have a well-lit home without spending too much, you need to understand exactly what your home needs, and make sure that you don’t spend more money on artificial lighting than you need to. There are many cheap alternatives to expensive lighting, a lot of which you can easily install at home without requiring any professional help. Something that you may need professional help is deciding exactly what kind of lighting would be perfect for your home, since this can be tricky, and makes a world of a difference on how your place looks overall.