Décor guide: relaxing and celebrating

Décor guide: relaxing and celebrating

While the first and most obvious job of light is to illuminate a room, it is also a decorative element in its own right, one that can transform, enlarge or shrink a room's volume and space depending on how you use it: in other words, depending on the types of light fitting you choose and also, perhaps above all, on where you place them! The atmosphere you want to create, whether to unwind or, on the contrary, for a special evening, will therefore rely largely on the interplay of light and how it relates to the layout of your living room, for example.

Christmas and New Year, birthdays, parties.

In the life of any home, there are moments that break with the everyday routine. On these occasions, which are more frequent than you might think, such as birthdays, Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations or parties, it is important to know how to set the scene in your home for these special evenings. The key is first to choose the right light fittings, in other words ones you will use mainly on these occasions. You could choose clear glass or plastic ceiling lights, for instance, to let the light bounce around, or even play with a mirror effect by adding horizontal light from a table lamp to the overhead light, giving the room a sparkling glow. The secret of lighting for special occasions is a sense of escape and luxury, so don't hesitate to treat your ceiling lights or chandeliers as decorative pieces in their own right, as well as sources of light. And why not swap your usual bulbs for sparkling ones!

Creating a soothing atmosphere

To recover from those wild New Year's Eve parties or a dinner that went on late into the night, there is nothing like soothing lighting to help you unwind and recharge your batteries. First, and this almost goes without saying, when you want to create soft, subdued light you need to balance your light sources subtly, so that they lose their harshness and become a gentle wash of light. To do this, use several light points around the room, favouring halogen lamps and dimmable ceiling lights, wall lights or chandeliers. You can also swap your usual bulbs for coloured ones, which will create a warm, deep atmosphere that is ideal for relaxing.