Lighting is an easy fix when you want to improve your home’s overall look without changing the entire theme. The latest lighting trend that’s taking the world by storm is cove lighting.
Whether you rent or own, cove lighting is feasible to transform how a space looks and feels.
Natural light is vital for health and environmental reasons, of course. And finding a good balance between direct and indirect lighting impacts the entire mood of a room.
Cove lighting is usually recessed, set in the back of an area to allow indirect lighting without glare. The lighting source hides in a ceiling, a wall, or a corner of the room.
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Benefits of Cove Lighting
Cove lighting illuminates the space by casting light up toward the ceiling or down the floor and wall. The result is sufficient lighting in a way that isn’t too harsh or too soft.
If that’s not enough to convince you cove lighting is for you, how about the fact that it can help you financially? Yes, this type of lighting will not only increase your home’s value, but it’ll also pay for itself in saved energy costs.
So how can you bring the style of cove lighting into your home? Try these five techniques as a DIY method you can use when you move or install permanently.
Add a False Ceiling
Drop or false ceilings are symbolic in restaurants like Panera Bread and those that want to create a soft, upscale atmosphere.
These design additions are not solely for aesthetics. There are plenty of other benefits to false ceilings. They balance the temperature of a room with thermal insulating properties.
If you live in a lively area or have boisterous neighbors, they can help soundproof the room.
False ceilings are a smart way to hide the wires from your cove lighting. You don’t have to avoid the look you want because of too many visible strips. Instead, the ceiling takes care of minimizing any wires you see.
You can also direct everyone’s attention to where you want it to focus by using lighting angles.
Got a corner of the room that needs some paint or is full of clutter? Point the lighting to the opposite area, and no one will pay attention to the problem space!
Hide it in Your Wall Decor
Elegant restaurants know how to strategically place their lighting for ambiance. They get the perfect combination of sophisticated glamour and enough light to function normally.
How do they do it? It’s not magic, and it doesn’t require an expensive interior decorator, either. Just disguise your cove lighting in your wall decor!
Does your room have long curtains or drapes? Drapery lighting is a hot trend. You can use string lights to enhance your curtains, but coved lighting adds a classier touch. With a simple lighting panel hung over the drapes, the final look is elegant and soft.
Framed wall art is another innovative way to hang cove lighting. The lighting sits inside the frame and enhances the picture while brightening the room at the same time.
Install it in Your Furniture
Why not take the elegance of cove lighting into your bedroom, too?
Look around your room. Where are there dark spaces that could use a touch of light? Are there flat surfaces nearby that could hide some light panels and wires?
Bookshelves, wall shelving, and your headboard are the perfect places for a little extra brightness. Light up your wardrobe shelves for easy access without turning on the main switch.
Add a panel along the top of your bedroom window, over your closet door, and anywhere a soft touch of light would come in handy.
Use it For Stairway Lighting
It’s always a good idea to have a little extra light when you’re walking up dark stairways.
But who wants to flick on a glaring overhead light in the middle of the night when they’re hungry for a midnight snack? We all know that as soon as you turn that bright light on, it’s going to take forever to get back to sleep.
Cove lighting along the stairway solves this problem and keeps you from tripping on the steps. Invest in motion-activated lights, so you don’t have to do anything but walk to get up and down safely.
Brighten Up the Kitchen
The kitchen is the warm, pulsating heart of the home. It’s the bright area where everyone can come for lively conversation and the busyness of creating a meal.
Although cove lighting diffuses the brightness in some spaces, it can also increase it where you need it. With a false ceiling for indirect light, the source can throw its rays straight up and spread throughout the room.
For a fun look, use colored LED rope lights. String them across the kitchen counter or along the top of your cupboards. Blue, white, and red are popular shades.
Connect your cove lights to a separate switch or your digital assistant, so it’s a piece of cake to go from full to recessed lighting.
Conclusion
There’s a place and a time for everything, including different light sources.
Sometimes you’ll need full light, and other times, natural light will do. But no matter what time of the day or night it is, cove lighting is always proper for the occasion.
Since it saves you money and benefits the environment, there’s no reason not to invest in this home decor addition soon!
Author bio:
Caitlin Sinclair is the Property Manager at Portside Ventura Harbor with five years of property management experience and many more in customer service. She loves sharing her passion for her community and looks forward to making Portside Ventura Harbor the place to call home.
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