Autumn’s Fading Light
Here we are again. The carrousel of time has revolved another three-quarter turn. Morning mist lines dips and hollows and balmy afternoons give way to damp, tangy evenings with a whiff of winter in the air.
Holidays are over, barbecues are put into hibernation, flowers fade to make way for berries. Firewood is stacked ready to revive log burners.
Night time encroaches earlier and takes us by surprise, along with the sudden nip in the air.
We are all moving inside, turning on lights and lighting fires.
To compensate for the sun’s departure, we turn towards the cosiness of our homes for shelter, giving up the freedom of the outdoors for the security of the fireside.
Just as you might add layers of throws and cushions in cosy textures and warm colours to make your home feel more inviting as the season turns, so you can customise your lighting to maximise the feeling of warmth and comfort.
Look at what lighting you have in a living space. Make sure ceiling lights are on dimmers so that they can be turned down to a soft, inviting glow. Think about adding different light sources at different levels, to add comforting layers of soft light which can be altered to suit the mood. Add table lamps and floor-standing up-lights, concealed behind furniture or plants, to bring a new dimension of interest to the space.
Cosy lighting schemes mimic the warm tones of firelight and sunsets. Look at your wall lights and table lamps. What sort of bulbs have you got in them? The right light source is key to creating the atmosphere you want. Choose filament lamps or quality LED bulbs in warm tones (2700-3000k) and, for wall lights especially, it is preferable to have them dimmable. There are dim to warm options available for bulbs, which means that the light colour become more orange in tone as you dim the lights down, reminiscent of our old friend, the halogen lamp.
As we retreat inside, many of us are lucky enough to sit in glazed living spaces which look out over the garden we have enjoyed all summer. Rather than letting windows become cold, mirror-like expanses of blackness, which reflect interior lighting, as night falls, it is a good idea to have some lighting outside, beyond the glass. Aside from preventing windows from becoming giant black mirrors, the effect of lighting beyond the glazing helps to blur the visual boundary between inside and out, making our homes feel more spacious and allowing us to continue enjoying elements of the outdoors long after the temperature has dropped.
Above all, don’t forget to light some candles. The flicker of kinetic lighting cannot be beaten when it comes to warming the soul.
