The Importance of Lighting in Interior Design

Sharing is caring!

This post is sponsored by Babbleboxx on behalf of Soraa. Content and images are all my own.

Today we’re going to talk about the importance of lighting in interior design and home decor.

The Importance of Lighting in a Home if You Love Bold Decor

When we were in the midst of building our home a year ago, there were many parts I stressed about, but the parts I stressed out the most about were color and lighting.

Having beautifully designed and colorful spaces, decor, textiles and artwork is no good if you do not have properly lit interiors. When selecting wall color for our space, I was acutely aware of the impact that the lighting would have which is why I went with a slightly warm white wall color because I didn’t want my wall color to skew to the blue/cool side of the spectrum. I feel the brass finishes I love look best against a warmer color.

I decorate with many bold colors in my home (lots of pink, metallic, florals, blue, black and chinoiserie patterns), set against creamy white walls, so any inaccuracies in lighting are immediately obvious when my decor pieces don’t look as they should when lit at night.

I love full spectrum color and decor in my home because I want my home to feel inviting, cheery and chic. Plus I decorate with a lot of black and white, and I want my whites to stay “white” and not ivory or off-white.

This is a great example below: you can see how I love to incorporate florals, nature, and bold punches of color with a crisp white backdrop and glam lighting.

Why Does My Decor Look “Off”?

When I get reader questions about design dilemmas the most common one centers on “lighting in interior design”. People don’t like that their decor, artwork or wall color doesn’t look “true to color” in their space when they flip the lights on, and they’re often surprised when I tell them it can be as simple as switching to proper light bulbs.

Now sometimes the solution may be that your windows face in a direction that doesn’t compliment your current paint color, but before doing anything drastic like repainting a room, try switching to better light bulbs.

I recently switched to Soraa Radiant LED bulbs because they have amazing color accuracy and really bring my colorful home decor to life as intended.

Traditional LED lights have color gaps that don’t accurately reflect deep reds or those crisp blues that us ginger jar collectors love.

See how murky and yellow my decor (and floors!) look with traditional light bulbs.

We’ve been using LED bulbs for awhile, but the color temperature sweet spot can be hard to attain.

Too warm and our walls look butter colored, too cool and our walls look like a pale, cold blue. And once our walls look “off”, so does my artwork, drapery, decor and furnishings.

If you’re like me, you love how most spaces in your house look in the daytime. At night, essentially we all want our interiors lit as if they were being lit by the best light bulb on earth- the natural light from the sun – even after the sun goes down.

We want colors (and the color temperature) to be accurate. There’s a reason photographers like myself love natural light- colors are easily accurate and bright. Soraa light bulbs help make that happen 24/7 with their LED efficiency technology.

You’ve likely experienced Soraa technology if you’ve been to a hotel or museum and just felt dazzled by the lighting and the mood it evokes. Hotel lobbies are always great inspo for lighting since they’re designed to perfection to make a grand first impression for guests.

Now you can have that same perfect lighting in your own home.

Creating a Better Office Space for Crafting & Working

The first spot I used Soraa bulbs in was my office. I spend a lot of time in here crafting, working on blog projects, and most importantly editing blog photos. It’s hard to edit blog photos in inaccurate lighting and white balancing photos by hand is no fun!

My original lighting was overly warm, so I tended to compensate too much to the blue side in my photos when editing. The decor in this space is also very white and gold with touches of black, so I do not want my walls to look yellow once I turn on the lights, plus it makes taking accurate tutorial photos a bit more difficult.

Here’s with regular light bulbs…notice how my office space looks a little yellow? You can really tell on the lamp shade/base and the wall. Compare that to the sunlight beaming in through the window (these pictures were taken at about 6 pm or so).

And now, experience full spectrum color with Soraa Radiant LED light bulbs. My decor and walls now look as they should. You can really tell a difference if you look at the wall color and items on my desk, and that’s with just swapping out the bulb in the desk lamp.

Then I swapped out the floor lamp, too. Perfection! I zoomed out a bit for this photo to illustrate how the whole room looks– you’ve got to see to believe it. The golds don’t look overly warm, the white walls stay white, and my curtains and other decor pieces look as they should.

It’s so much more pleasing to work in here in the evenings- I was up until 1 a.m. last Friday in this space because it’s bright and comfy.

It’s easy on my eyes, and I can actually get more done in this space with better lighting. And my decor, especially artwork, looks good, too. I recently shot a few tutorials in this space, and the color accuracy was amazing even in the evenings.

Better Lit Living Spaces

In my living room, I tend to decorate with more bold colors mixed with feminine touches, velvets and florals for an eclectic meets luxe kind of vibe. I love that the Soraa light bulbs do not skew the color of my gray chesterfield, my throw pillows/blankets nor my sweet dog Pee Wee.

My decor and furnishings staying true to color is important to me because I meticulously select each piece for a reason whether it’s to act as a backdrop or stand out as a bold decor statement.

On my end tables, I love to display my various blue and white ginger jars, and the light bulbs keep them looking true to color.

With my old bulbs, they looked very yellow (as seen earlier in this post). Nobody likes jaundiced decor! This picture below is taken after the sun has gone completely down.

These light bulbs enable me to decorate with any color I like knowing it’ll look great (and accurate to the eye!) once the sun goes down and the lights come on.

Try switching to Soraa Radiant LED bulbs and you’ll immediately see a difference in how your decor looks at night. Your colorful furnishings and decor will pop– especially reds and other bold hues. Happy decorating, xo!