Today I want to talk more about setting the stage for your next great event in the terms of how you can create a mood just by dimming or brightening the lights around your house. In all honesty, your next great "event" could be hosted and attended solely by you and as long as it fits your needs perfectly, well, that is all that matters.
Just like scents, lighting can have a huge affect on the ambiance in your home, and the feeling that guest come away with after even a short visit. I've said this before, but working in real estate really helped me get a better understanding of how people react in different environments. Especially when I would walk Looky Lou's through finished inventory homes that I had been trying to sell for months, it became obvious what the masses didn't want. When I had houses that I would show over and over again without any offers, my bosses would come to my partners and I wondering what we had to do to get someone to fall in love with that house. Were we showing it enough? Of course! Where we talking about the amazing house and the amenity loaded neighborhood? Really? Come on. It was my job to talk about the amazing house and the glorious neighborhood that anyone who was anyone was dying to live in. Most often the reasons why I didn't get an offer on certain homes was glaringly apparent and it was great when it was something we could fix. One of the easiest fixes on existing homes was addressing the lighting situation.
A too dark kitchen kept buyers away. They wouldn't always say "oh this kitchen is too dark" but time and time again if we would add in under cabinet lights and a few more overhead fixtures in that space, the right buyers would come along. In fact under cabinet lighting was one of the most popular "options" that my buyers selected when designing their homes with me. Not only to brighten things up but also to add ambiance to the kitchen, knowing that they would be entertaining in there. Recessed lights were another hugely popular addition; and because we are in the south where summer afternoons can sometimes feel like you are vacationing in hel...oh you get the point, I also sold a lot of ceiling fan junction boxes as well. Lucky for you, all of these lighting additions can be done by you, the oh so very handy home owner.
Technically, under cabinet lights are referred to as task lighting, though using them alone can certainly help to create a more subdued environment. We love our under cabinet lights; it was a huge perk for me when we bought our home that we already had them installed this time around because I have seen the difference a little lighting can make on resale value. My husband had already installed them on our previous home, and knew that we could use the same type of light fixture as up lighting above our family room bookshelves. And bless his heart, he was willing to install bookshelves and lights all over again when we moved a few years ago, which I am grateful for everyday when at the flip of a switch my most used room feels more cozy.
If you follow this link to the Home Depot web site, they offer a step by step tutorial on how you can install under cabinet lights. They listed the job as "hard" but say that even a novice can get everything installed within a couple of days. It looks like the prices for each light can vary but start out as low as $14 or so, depending on the retailer.
Not such a handy homeowner? You can also purchase wireless LED under cabinet lighting, and most of these lights use just 3 AAA batteries and will have you in business in no time at all. The down side of the battery operated lights is that most will need to have new batteries after about 60 hours of use. But if you aren't using it all the time, the ease of installation can be appealing.
That's it! Add a little light to brighten things up when used with your overhead lights. Or, use just your under cabinet or up lighting to set the stage for a cozy, and dare I say romantic, evening in.
This is so inspiring! I have always wanted more lighting in our kitchen and will be begging my husband to take a look at this tutorial! Thanks for the tip!
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