As an internationally celebrated designer, Bobby Berk is not short of transformative home renovation tips. The Queer Eye host dispenses design tips daily – but which piece of advice does he hold above all else? Mastering good lighting, says Bobby, is the single most transformative thing we can do for our homes.
'The easiest and quickest way to elevate a room is with lighting, and it can be the cheapest, too' Bobby says in an exclusive interview with H&G. He recently teamed up with TriPointe to bring his decorating advice to life in homes in Arroyo's Edge, Las Vegas.
'You can make the nastiest warehouse building look like a chic cool space for a fashion show with the right lighting – and the same goes for your house.'
Lighting is a broad topic of discussion – covering bedroom light levels (for sleep), kitchen lights (that are often more practical), and living room lighting that is ambient for relaxing and hosting. However, while Bobby recognizes that each room is different – he has a way to elevate almost every space: uplighting.
'Uplighting is a great way to make your house look really chic or really cool,' Bobby says.
'You can get great can lights that sit on the ground [such as the lights from Etsy below] – they are nearly the size of a can – and shoot light upwards. Then you flood your walls with light from the lower areas of your room – it just makes everything look very chic.'
This large, freestanding floor lamp is an effective way to experiment with uplighting – creating a chic, therapeutic space while flirting with the bamboo trend. We'd say it's the most stylish way to follow Bobby's advice.
So uplighting is very much approved, but what does Bobby avoid?
'Overhead lighting is your worst enemy,' he says. 'No one wants a space with overhead lighting, but if you do have it, a great way to fix that is to use a dimmer [like this one on Amazon].'
That way, when we need bright light when getting ready or cleaning, we can power up our lighting – but can quickly bring the levels back down – for a calmer, designer-approved home.
'Lighting is a quick and very inexpensive way to transform your space and make it feel much brighter, happier, and chicer at night. So, lighting is a really inexpensive way to change the look of a room without having to put much in it,' he adds.
For more tips, we're following Bobby's advice in his book, available below.
