5 easy steps to a Home Lighting Makeover
Home Lighting Makeover in Five Easy Steps
I’m sure it has been evident on my blog and all the pictures I post on Facebook that the lighting in my house is less than stellar. When we moved into this rental house, I was so excited about the ceramic tile floors, big and open floor plan, and lots of space for my oversized furniture. However, there are problems with the old lighting, the wood paneling that is painted an eggshell white, and the ceramic tile…well, it’s cracked from the foundation shifting so it is no longer helpful in spreading the light around. After my boy’s birthday party last month, I looked at a few of the pictures and suddenly realized, I need a home lighting makeover!
{Before picture of our large “yellow-tinted” living room}
We moved into this large house from a teeny tiny apartment so we didn’t have a lot of decor to use. Within the first week of moving in; however, Hubby surprised me and decorated the living room and kitchen with what we had available and that is how it has remained. This one wall in our house is the best wall we have and otherwise there are quite a few blank walls everywhere else.
I have loved my big blue couches since the first time I saw them. I love the bright blue and the contrast of the silver decorative pillows, but the lighting in this room does not display that POP of color that I love so much. I knew that adding just a few small touches to the room would make a difference so Hubby joined me on a little makeover trip to Walmart this week.
1. Bright wall decor {add a large piece like a clock}
I am a little boring in that I like chocolate brown with most of my decor. The walls in this house are wood panelling with an egg shell white paint on them and it just doesn’t look great when there are large areas uncovered. With my taste in bulky brown shelves, I needed something to lighten up this wall. Hubby has always wanted a large wall clock so we added in a clock in the one space that was uncovered. I still need to update some of the photos on the shelves with family photos, but I think the clock was the missing piece on this wall.
2. Change out light fixtures {think white or clear shades}
The old ceiling fans in this house are brown and gold and the shades are a yellowish color. I noticed from many of the party pictures that everything looked a little yellow so I decided to change out the shades before considering changing the entire ceiling fan. I bought a semi-cloudy white shade for each of the four bulbs and easily replaced them. I think eventually we may change out the entire ceiling fan to something with silver to match the silver in the couches, but for now this really makes things look fresh.
3. Protect the furniture {give the pets their own new beds}
Our dogs are crazy, seriously wild and crazy, and they have these play fights at night while we are sleeping and even more so while we are away at work. We have a huge backyard and I would love nothing more than to let them play outside all day, but the fence has multiple places for them to get out (and we can’t find them all!) so they are inside all day. I come home to all of my couch cushions on the floor and a few times to my couch pillows completely gutted. I decided to get them some cute dog beds of their own to match the decor and hopefully this will deter them from sleeping on the couches and ultimately getting into fights there as well.
4. A new area rug will pull it all together
As I mentioned, we had a foundation issue with the house last year. When we moved in, there were a few cracked tiles and we found the extras in the outside shed. Before we had the chance to replace them, the house shifted again and our landlord had someone come out and fix it. In order to do this, they had to drill holes in several places throughout the house and pump concrete in them. Just in front of our television, there is a huge patch of removed tile and they over-pumped the concrete. There is a large bump there of uneven floor and we are at a loss as to how to fix it and replace the tile. Since that little section is not a high traffic location, we have been wanting to cover it with a rug (also our landlord’s suggestion) until we can find a solution.
I also notice that the white ceramic tile does nothing for the lighting in this room. It does not reflect good light and it gets dirty so easily that it makes things worse. We bought a chocolate rug to center in the room and it seems to pull the room together. Hubby says it makes it looks “homey” and “family-like”.
5. Use GE reveal® light bulbs to bring out colors & patterns that can go unnoticed
This is the most important step in a full home lighting makeover. Without proper lighting from quality light bulbs, all of our attempts at decor were for naught. We used 75 watt GE reveal® light bulbs to brighten up the room, take advantage of our new white shades, and to make the silver in my beloved couches really POP! We started using GE Lighting last year and have noticed a difference in our electric bill, as well as our trips to Walmart to buy new light bulbs.
Bonus Tip {from Hubby} – Update your entertainment
Buy a new 65-70 inch flat screen smart TV and even the picture on your television will be brighter! The big screen you see in the pictures is a very old, very large console-type television that my dad gave us. Hubby wants a really large new TV that you can see him drooling over in our shopping trip album (yeah…he will have to wait on that one).
{After picture of our bright, beautiful “homey” living room}
We noticed a huge change right away as I was setting everything up in the living room. Even more so, we noticed after we went outside and came back in. I might just be able to get my family to spend more time in the living room now. I might just feel more comfortable inviting guests over now. I might just feel inspired to do a few more makeovers around the house now.
What a difference! I love your new rug!
(And I love chocolate brown. My family room is chocolate brown-seriously, the walls are dark brown. People call it the funeral parlor because it’s so dark. I don’t care. I love it!)
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Thanks Amy! I am still so excited about it that I show it to anyone who will look. I even texted the pics to my landlord and she loved it!
It’s amazing what a change in lighting can do. I love the new look!
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I love that large clock! I was just looking at some today and trying to decide which to purchase. I also want to try the Reveal bulbs. I think the lighting will be so much better, and more natural looking.
Dawn
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I love the new makeover, it looks great!
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