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Lighting up your home for dull days and evening viewings!

Lighting up your home for dull days and evening viewings!

I hate to draw your attention to it, but the fact is the clocks have gone back and the evenings are getting darker. Daylight hours become fewer and for house sellers, that’s a really important thing to be aware of.
 
It’s really difficult for buyers to get a good sense of a house when viewing in the dark, so at this time of year sellers should be making themselves as available as possible for daytime viewings.
 
But for times when daytime viewings just aren’t an option, and for those dull winter days when the sun doesn’t seem to have even bothered to get up, what can you do to make the viewing experience as light as possible?
 
Have a walk through your house, being aware of the direction each room’s windows face, and look at the angles of each room to identify any dark spots. First things first, make sure all your bulbs are working and replace those that aren’t. Then you can think about adding or changing lights; here’s an area guide to help you out:
 
Hallways & Landings
It’s really important that your hallway is welcoming and inviting, as it’s the first impression of the inside of the house. It doesn’t need to be super-bright, but a dark hallway really won’t do you any favours. Ramp up the wattage in your ceiling or wall light fittings if you can, or add a lamp to help brighten things up. Large mirrors are great in hallways to accentuate the light and make the space seem larger – two birds with one stone!
 
Living & Dining Rooms        
These rooms look best with a combination of ambient and task lighting – ceiling fixtures with lower-wattage bulbs or dimmers so the strength of the light isn’t so glaring, and plenty of floor and table lamps to highlight certain areas and provide dedicated light for reading. You can’t really have too many table lamps, and don’t worry if you don’t have a table to put one on – buy a larger size and it’ll look just as good on the floor next to the fireplace.
 
Kitchen
The lighting in your kitchen should be almost exclusively task lighting – bright and focussed over heavy use areas such as the hob, sink and work surfaces. If you don’t have any under-counter lighting, consider buying a few battery-powered stick-on units for a fast, simple addition of light.
 
Bathroom                                       
Due to the water situation it’s difficult to add lighting into a bathroom quickly and cheaply, so opt for the low-tech solution and light plenty of candles near the tub for evening viewings. As well as adding light, they will create a lovely mood and help the buyer to imagine themselves relaxing there.
 
Bedrooms
Similar to your living areas, bedrooms need a combination of overhead or wall lights and plenty of ambient lighting provided by floor and/or table lamps to create a warm, relaxed feel. Matching bedside table lamps are a no-brainer, and you can easily add more lamps to light up the rest of the room.
 
Offices & study areas
A desk lamp is a total essential for focussed task lighting, and it’s a great way of adding colour and personality to a work space.  But don’t forget the rest of the room – smaller lamps on shelves and a floor lamp in a dark corner takes the attention away from the desk and into the room as a whole.
 
Aside from adding actual lights into your house, there are other things you can do to maximise the light:
 
  • Polish up all your shiny things – shiny surfaces reflect light, making the most of whatever light you have in the room
  • Add mirrors opposite light sources to essentially double the effect of the light
  • Keep your colour schemes light and choose warm rather than cool accent colours
  • When preparing for viewings on dull days or in the evenings, take a walk round the house and switch on your lights. Make sure you leave enough time for any low-energy bulbs to properly warm up! For evening viewings you’ll have curtains and blinds closed, but on dull days make sure all window dressings are pushed right back to let as much of that measly light in as possible.
 
If you’re really struggling for natural light, don’t worry too much. Get yourself lots of floor and table lamps and go for a cosy feel. It’s what we’re all craving at this time of year anyway!
 
Best of luck, and happy selling!

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