Go For It! Change the Lighting

I recently discovered that if you are renter, like me, one of the easiest ways to make a space feel more personal is to change the light fixture. It can change the overall mood of a room and it also gives you the opportunity to select the kind of light you want in your home. Of course, in my case, the change was extreme as we only had bare bulbs to begin with, but it’s incredible how a relatively simple task can make such a difference!

When choosing a new fixture for your home you have to carefully consider, not only the style, but also the type of light you want to have. Different types lamps and different types of bulbs can produce light of different temperatures. Some are warm giving a red-yellow light like that of a fire, and some are cool giving a blue-green light like that of an overcast sky.

Here are some of the most common types of bulbs:

Incandescent bulbs are the most common but most inefficient. Although each bulb costs less, they don’t last as long and consume more energy than other options. A pro they have is that they are dimmable.
Temperature: Warm

Halogen bulbs a more energy efficient version or regular incandescent bulbs, these also provide very good color rendition (the way colors look when illuminated by them). They are also dimmable.
Temperature: Warm to neutral

Flourescent lamps use about 25% less energy than incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light. The also last up to 10 times longer However, you need a special kind of ballast (that controls the amount of electricity flowing to the bulb) to be able to dim them.
Temperature: Warm to cold

LEDs, or Light-Emitting Diodes, are very energy efficient and offer very good light quality. They consume up to 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer.
Temperature: Cold to neutral

Here is a quick video from the Dummies Channel on YouTube to show you how to change a ceiling fixture:

(Image: Natalie Espinosa)