You spend a third of your life in your bedroom.
Why wouldn’t you want to make the most of your space?
If you’re not 100 percent happy with the way the inside of your house looks, it’s time to do something about it. We understand how costly home renovations can be. However, with the right uses of mirrors and light, you can transform any room on a budget.
To help you out, we’re here to present the top eight ways to light up your house. So take a look! You may find the perfect tip to have the interior decor you’ve always dreamed of.
1. Uses Of Mirrors And Mantles
One of our favorite uses of mirror and lighting tricks takes place in the living room. It’s common for people to put a mirror over their living room mantel. However, we suggest adding in lights to showcase a piece of art on your mantle. You can also mix the two together, and get yourself a wall mirror with lights.
Instead of having a traditional standalone mirror set up, you’ll be able to highlight your space, while putting the focus on a piece of art. You can also choose to highlight a photograph or a small statue.
Next, surround the focus point (the art or photograph) with light. Rather than trying to hang light fixtures, it’s best if you find flat strips of light that can lay discreetly on your mantle.
Guests you won’t notice the special setup is there until you turn the lights on. Once on, the light will illuminate the painting, also casting shadows on the background of the mirror. It’s a great “wow” factor for guests, while also creating a sense of elegance.
2. Cover Your Chimney
If you’re lucky enough to have a chimney and fireplace, you need to bedazzle it with mirrors and lights. For a truly impressive look, cover the entire breast of the chimney in mirrored panels. Now, the next time you light up your fireplace, the light will begin dancing off of the chimney.
The type of mirror panels you choose should reflect the entire design of your interior decor. If you’re going for a contemporary look, you want to use clear mirror panels.
However, if your house has a traditional cozy feel, tinted glass is the way to go. If you want an elegant look, antique mercury glass works great, and it will complement any antique furniture you have.
3. Front Porch Greenery
If you have a front porch or a small patio, you can use mirror panels along with a hanging lantern to create a sense of wonder. To accomplish this look, you’ll want to get either a real or fake hanging plant.
After hanging up the plant, place your mirror panels along the sides of the plant and on the ceiling. Next, place the hanging lantern right in front of the hanging plant.
The plant will suddenly have an entirely new look, and so will your entire patio. You’ll have created a jungle wonderland to decorate the entrance of your home.
4. Add Space and Depth
Hidden lights are great for adding space and depth to any room. You can use a plain LED strip, and hide the lights in different corners of your home.
We suggest putting the lights high above your head, in nooks and crannies along your ceiling area. The hidden lights will give the room an added sense of space and depth, while also creating a calming glow.
To make things special, consider getting LED lights that can turn the color blue. Science shows that blue lights help create a sense of calm, more so than white lights.
5. Uniform Vs. Random Lights
If you already have a room with a few mirrors in it, you’ll just need to decide how to hang your lights. If your main goal is to frame your living space, then uniform lighting is the best option. When you place your lights using uniform lighting, they’ll be on a grid system, and you’ll have even light levels throughout the house.
However, if you’re looking for a more eye-catching approach, random light placements are for you. To find lights that hang, such as pendant lights, check out Pagazzi. You can place the pendant lights at different heights, to create a classy, casual, look.
6. Filling Empty Spaces
We often think about trying to create space in our home, but sometimes we also have to fill the space. If you have a room, that doesn’t have a lot of decorations or furniture, you can use groupings of light fixtures to fill the space.
First, you’ll want to buy a lot of the same type of light fixtures. Next, pick a spot in the room where you want all of them to be. Once your lights are in place, position one to two mirrors in the room along the floor, casually leaning against the wall.
A full-length body mirror gently tilted back works great as well. Having all of the lights together will create a sense of space as they become the focus of the room. However, you won’t have to worry about the lights being too intense since the mirror will create a light bouncing effect.
7. Side-Mounted Sconces
Are you looking for gentle but effective lighting to use with your mirrors? Then you should try side-mounted sconces. You can either mount the sconces beside the mirror or put the sconces directly on the mirror’s sides.
Here are a few tips to get the best look:
· Glass downlights should be barely below eye level
· Glass uplights should be barely above eye level
· Center your mirror above the sink
Mount the sconces only a couple of inches away from the mirror
You’ll want to have the lighting fixtures close to the mirror so they can illuminate your face.
8. Marvelous Mirror Sizes And Placements
The placement and size of your mirror and lights will determine how your room feels. If you have a really large room and you want it to feel full of energy, put mirrors right next to the light source.
Whatever you do, don’t put the mirrors directly in front of the light, because this could make the reflected light too intense. A good example would be hanging mirrors a few inches away from wall sconces. if you’re lucky enough to have a chandelier, hang a long mirror on the wall right below it.
Light Reflects Love
Now you know about eight of the top uses of mirrors and lighting. All you need now is a mirror, any type of light, and a space to create your masterpiece. We challenge you to pick one room in your house to begin transforming today!
If you want more interior decorating tips, we’ve got you covered. Go ahead and check out the rest of this site.
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