Lights, Camera, Action….

Lights, Camera, Action or not as the case may be!! I know you are probably totally fed up of hearing about our renovation woes! We are very much nearing completion with the bulk of the structural work completed.  While we have had disagreements over some of the larger elements of this project a serious bone of contention has become the interior details and most specifically the lights/lighting.

I quite literally spend hours turning off lights in our house. The Dada Fairy and the kids cannot seem to master the art of turning off the light when they leave the room.  The house was completely wired in the new and the Dada Fairy insisted on tonnes of lighting both inside and outside. My neighbour was only half joking when he said to my husband one day you wont be happy until the house is visible from space!!

Who knew  choosing light fittings would be so difficult. We are poles apart in terms of what we like. He likes the almost industrial vibe im more in favour of warm cosy type fittings. He wants tonnes of light in rooms. I can see where he is coming from as living at the end of a hill our house can be quite dark.

For me however lights are a lot more than just that, lighting can transform a room. Also for me the energy efficiency of the bulbs is key. Our bills previous in Winter could top 300 however after the initial outlay on the LED bulbs we have noticed a marked improvement.  Our November/ December bill for last year was only 120 for 2 months.  For us it has been totally worth the initial outlay. Once we have all in place, ill be looking into the smart home features like the Philips Hue. My sister has this and finds it brilliant.  Being able to turn on and off lights from an app on your phone, no more running after the boys to turn off lights!!

Because my husband often works from home, he is very aware of the lighting needs in areas of the house, for example task based lighting, ambient lights and general lighting.   Who knew there was so much to consider!

One other item that I was indifferent about was a sensor light out in the garden.  This has been a great addition as it illuminates the area very quickly.  As we are often away the motion sensor light is another device which will hopefully help protect the house for unwanted guests! While no light will keep a thief out it will hopefully create the illusion that somebody is home. Separate to that, its great when you pull up outside late in the evening the drive is lit up instantly.

If you do have any pictures of your inside lights I would love to see them. I have been searching on line for weeks now for inspiration but we still cant agree. We are getting there though and when we do ill be sure to update this article.