It was a only a few years ago when I revamped the lighting within my workshop with a series of daylight-coloured bulbs. Sources online had suggested these bulbs provide the ultimate working (artificial) light and that certainly matched my own findings. At the time, I never gave any thought to the psychological benefits a good lighting and it is only now – well, a fortnight ago – that I have decided to improve the quality illumination with my home.
Daylight-coloured bulbs match the light from outside.
How many people seriously consider the color of their light bulbs when decorating or organising a room? We seem content to stick with what we’ve got. Perhaps the awareness of other colours isn’t out there. I searched several local stores stocking hardware and DIY items; yet, they all seemed to carry the same ‘warm white‘ color and nothing more.
This common bulb is known as ‘warm white’.
I remember having as much trouble locating daylight-coloured tubes for my previous workshop and that lead a store in the center of Bristol that specialises in electrical goods. Even the likes of Screwfix and Toolstation don’t offer much in the way of variety (for standard bulb fittings, anyway).
That dim orange glow… It feels kind of warm and does, I suppose, help to ease you in to an inevitable sleep at the end of a day… But, it’s poor for anything practical and you will not appreciate the difference until you make a change.
Night-time, with curtains closed.
If you’re aware of SAD and the common Winter Blues then you’re probably aware that sufferers can buy desktop lamps to help them cope. They’re not exactly cheap and I wonder whether a greater improvement can be achieved by illuminating an entire room… I mean, having to physically sit in front of a small lamp may not be comfortable. It requires more of an effort and encouragement. But you can go about your everyday activities and live within your house.
Let’s face it; the government aren’t going to see sense and to scrap the Daylight Savings nonsense anytime soon. I work in a depressing factory with little scope for the outside world. It involves starting no later than 7am; long before the sun awakens at this time of year… Now, each night I come home, I have a little bit of salvation at the flick of a light switch. I look around at my neighbours; each window warm like a tangerine and I wonder… Do they ever look at mine and ponder what I might be doing differently?
I had to go to Amazon to locate my bulbs in the end and, if you follow this link, you’ll notice I was even the first to review this pack of two. You may also come across a cool white color that’s supposed to be slightly brighter than daylight, I think.
If you look again at the previous photo above; my camera compliments the scene too well, as that end of the main room is actually much darker than it appears here. I do intend to add a small lamp to one corner at some point and I also wonder about the possibility of asking the landlord to move one of the bulbs (which is somewhat central of the entire room) several feet closer to the smoke alarm.
I’ve only replaced the two living room/kitchen bulbs so far. I don’t spend nearly as much time in the bathroom or bedroom and so I’ll leave them alone for now.
Speaking of my camera; it’s back in one piece, fully-functioning again and it only set me back £90 including postage. To ensure that my tripod doesn’t topple again, I’m going to suspend this half-filled tin of paint from the lower hook! I got the tip from an outdoors-type person who uses a backpack for the same steadying effect. No need to upgrade! :-)
Thanks for reading.
