This IKEA Light Will Help You Get Through Gloomy Spring Days

This time of year, when the spring weather dances between overcast and rainy days (and then teases you with just a smidge of sunshine), lighting is everything. While indoor lighting is not the same as sunlight, it can lift your spirits and help you cope with the low energy and seasonal blues that often accompany gloomy spring weather. 

IKEA is always a great source for budget-friendly lighting, but lately it’s also a place to find the latest lighting technology — including one light introduced last year that is basically like a HappyLight for your wall.  

The JETSTRÖM LED Wall Light Panel is a wall lamp designed specifically for mood setting. It’s a 12-inch square panel with a single cord, and it has a sleek, minimal design. It is also a part of IKEA’s collection of smart lights. The JETSTRÖM wall light lets you control the brightness and change the color of the lighting, which means you can use one light for different activities. For example, the light could be warm and dim for dinner hour, or bright and cool while you’re working on a craft project that requires precision. The range of color temperatures is broad — from stark white 4000 Kelvin down to a candlelight-esque 1780 Kelvin.

The light panel’s features are remote- or smart phone app-controlled, which makes it especially convenient to use. If you have other IKEA smart lights in your home, you can use one remote to control everything, or connect multiple smart devices to a hub and the IKEA Home smart app — with a little syncing you could set the mood of a whole room’s lighting with one click. (Note that the remote control and hub are sold separately.)

In addition to its smart features, JETSTRÖM’s LED technology means you will never have to change a lightbulb: The integrated LED will last for 25,000 hours. It’s also incredibly easy to install: You simply screw the mounting strip into the wall and hang the light from it, which means you can chase away that rainy-day slump in record time.