As a West Coast local, the importance of light is paramount to me. Vancouver (and co.) generally spends most of November, all the way through the end of April in a grey sludge. The natural light is really dull and quite dark. The warm, yellow tones of the sun affect both our mood and even our eyesight more than we realize. Lighting your home can make a huge impact in your space and is one of the key design elements that you can use to change the feel in your home and decor.

When Gary and I moved into our new place, I was crazy about all the big windows and natural light, it felt warm and cozy all the time. As the days started getting darker and shorter, I realized we needed to give our space a lighting overhaul. With an aim for a modern feel, lots of our lights were brighter and whiter. What I’ve come to see is that the warm tones actually compliment a modern space and make it more comfortable.

We spend most of our time in the kitchen and living room so we started there. We switched out the chandeliers that were built with the home and replaced them with three of these individual pendants to create a more industrial feel. We opted for metal industrial style stools so we thought this would compliment the look. I found these on Wayfair; I love using their ‘View In Room’ feature on the Wayfair app. You can actually take pictures of your space and insert the furniture you’re looking at. It makes for way less returns…. which I may often be guilty of.  We also matched the fixtures over the dining room table with the industrial-style kitchen fixtures. I love the cohesive look. We used nice warm light edison style bulbs in these fixtures to make up for the lack of natural exterior light. It feels so much cozier!

Next up, the Living Room. From inception to implementation this whole project only took a couple days. I’m already a quick-mover and puttering around at home pregnant, I am extra impatient (thankfully Wayfair has super fast free shipping). We removed the living room chandelier and replaced it with this multi-bulb piece. We used edison bulbs in this one as well. Since the bulbs are exposed, it has completely changed the light, colour and feel of our space. The yellow light actually offsets the white furniture, making everything look brighter and whiter.

All 3 pieces create a nice warm and cozy feel in our home as soon as you walk through the door. With a dark and gloomy sky, it’s really nice to have a tonal-sunshiny vibe in our space. Additionally I was in a horrible car accident a few years ago, it’s made my eyes very sensitive to light and bright lights prompt migraines for me. If you’re a sufferer of headaches or migraines, try using a softer light in your space – you can thank me later.

Now, to choose a new fixture for the bedroom. Any suggestions?

xx

N

Thank you to Wayfair Canada for sponsoring this post, all comments and opinions are my own.

Photography by Brooklyn D Photography