As the season begins to transition into deeper winter weather, and dark evenings continue to get longer, optimizing Feng Shui lighting tips is one of the best ways to make your home feel instantly cozy this November.
Our Feng Shui expert practitioners explain that as the rooms that felt bright, light, and airy in summer suddenly feel heavy and dark in the colder months, a stagnant Qi, or Chi, can be created. This can bring fatigue, poor health, and leave us inspired.
For that reason, it's more important than ever to set the mood with layered lighting, to bring comforting rest and reflection energy, and it will instantly become a fall Feng Shui essential for a cozier home.
How to Use Feng Shui Lighting
Lighting is often used in Feng Shui to create good energy in your home.
Suzanne Roynon, Feng Shui consultant and Interiors Therapist, explains, 'Layering is used in a multitude of ways to add depth, and support the Feng Shui energy required in any particular part of the home, so taking advantage of light to add a more inviting ambiance for a positive flow of chi – or lifeforce – energy makes total sense.
'Ensure the shades of lighting are mutually supportive, and avoid crossing cool tones with warm ones as this creates a clash, which can be difficult to relax in.'
To use Feng Shui lighting in your home:
1. Think About How a Room is Used
First things first, says Suzanne, avoid any Feng Shui design mistakes by thinking about how the room is most often used before getting started on additional lighting ideas.
'If the room is occupied during the day, you’ll need to amplify or simulate natural daylight wherever possible to support mood-regulating hormones,' she explains. 'Feng Shui is all about making the best use of positive energy, so consider daylight bulbs, such as the TJOY LED Light Bulbs available at Amazon for task lighting, and to offset SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and the winter blues.
'Some SAD lamps, like the Light Therapy Lamp from Amazon, can switch from daylight level lumens to warm white at the flick of a switch, making them the perfect choice for rooms which double as work from home spaces during the day, to sitting rooms at night.'
Task lighting, adds Ivana Nady, Feng Shui consultant and the founder of Zen-Interiors, is purposeful, adding directional light for specific tasks, such as reading lamps.
'Depending on the lightbulb used, it can bring in yin or yang Qi,' she explains. This is something to consider when it comes to your home office lighting ideas, for example.
2. Use Accent Lighting
Next, layer lighting with accent lights to make your home cozy in November and beyond.
'The easiest way to activate the Qi and bring back the warmth to our home is to layer the lighting,' says Ivana. 'As our homes are multi-dimensional, we have to design the lighting with this in mind.
'Ambient lighting is usually the main source of the lighting in the room: a ceiling fixture, suspended lighting, or wall-mounted lighting. This type of lighting carries yang Qi, and encourages action and clarity, but can feel too harsh and clinical for cozy autumn evenings.
'Accent lights are the real mood setter. They bring depth and character to the room. They are soft and diffused, and carry calming and restorative Qi. A little lamp that you bought on your last trip to Egypt can be placed in dark corners to wake up the sluggish Qi.
'Or, add a sparkle of fairy lights playfully spread over the walls. These touches will turn a house into a home – without them, a room can feel impersonal. With layers, the rooms will feel textured and alive.
Importantly, adds Suzanne, accent lighting will define without being overpowering, which is why it's preferable to the downward puddle of brightness from central light fittings or a sea of ceiling LED spots.
'Choose dimmable options wherever possible to fine-tune the room to your own requirements.' For example, Suzanne recommends the LDOPTO Under Cabinet Lights available in a pack of four at Amazon for this.
3. Illuminate Dark Corners
Finally, says Suzanne, speaking of dark corners with sluggish Qi, 'Illuminate the dark corners where stagnant Chi might skulk,' which is essential for Feng Shui energy mapping.
'Unused or cluttered spaces will not support your Feng Shui in any way, and this is as relevant to a multitude of light sources as to a pile of unsorted stuff. Think of the space in 3D and pool light in layers from floor to mid-height.
'Lift a low ceiling with uplighting to manage any suggestion of downward pressure, and lower a high one for a cozy feel in a double-height great room or lobby. Be creative with your options to bring the room alive.'
What to Shop
These dimmable bulbs deliver up to 50,000 hours of light, and are designed with the comfort of your eyes in mind.
These statement gold lamps cast a soothing, ambient glow, with a three-way dimmable touch switch.
This little lamp adds a pop of fun color to your space, with a translucent cord for easy blending and a handy on-off switch.
This lamp is designed to work with LED, CFL, incandescent, and halogen bulbs, and features a convenient foot switch for turning it on without bending down.
For unparalleled coziness and warmth, this authentic Himalayan salt lamp delivers a genuine glow and air-purifying benefits.
Get a daily dose of sunshine with this SAD lamp that provides one-button light therapy and delivers up to 10,000 lux of UV-free, LED, full-spectrum light.
Meet the Experts
'Layered lighting brings harmony, and the essence of Feng Shui to your room, allowing you to adjust the yin and yang Qi as you need it,' concludes Ivana.
As you focus on your lighting, don't forget to consider these Feng Shui living room mistakes, too.
