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Remote work and entrepreneurship have turned homes into workplaces, which has advantages. However, sometimes, you must make adjustments to maximize your potential, including your lights.
Many homes have ambient lighting that includes overhead or recessed lights. However, they are not designed for functional lighting in the home office. The type, character, and lighting quality can affect your drive and productivity. Artificial lights are even more critical when considering workspace illumination if you don’t have much natural light.
Here are things to consider when revamping your home workspace with the proper lighting.
Understanding Color Temperature
Color temperature plays a critical role in setting the right mood. We measure light color temperature in Kelvins (K), a unit of absolute temperature. Generally, the higher the Kelvin, the whiter the light. A bulb’s Kelvin rating will determine the approximate hue it will provide. The description below also identifies the suitable fixture for each area based on the color temperature:
- Below 2000K: Exudes a dim glow similar to candlelight; ideal for low-light areas, like an altar.
- 2000K-3000K: Exudes a soft yellow glow; ideal for most rooms in the home, including the bedrooms, living room, and outdoor areas.
- 3100K-4500K: Exudes a bright, white light; ideal for kitchens, home offices, other work areas, and anywhere requiring task lighting.
- 4600K-6500K: Exudes a bright, blue-white light, similar to daylight; ideal for display areas and work spaces requiring high illumination.
- 6500K and up: Exudes a bright bluish light, often found in commercial locations; ideal for task lighting.
Most household fixtures are warm to mid-cool (2700K to 3500K). Color temperatures over 3500K are typically used for commercial applications because the light has a bluish daylight cast that can seem harsh for home interiors. You may want task lighting at 4000K and above. When selecting ceiling lighting for your home or project, consider its color temperature to ensure the best outcome.
Light Revamping Tips
Your lighting strategy will depend on many factors, including your work and existing infrastructure. For example, it will be much easier to put designer ceiling lights if you already have wiring for it. However, there are general tips you should follow when revamping your home business space.
Use Natural Light
Let’s discuss finding the golden middle ground between natural and artificial office lighting. In a perfect world, you’re nestled in a cozy nook where sunshine constantly streams in. But the reality is that you will need artificial light sources at some point. The key to balanced lighting for your home office is to utilize natural light whenever possible and supplement it with various other light sources like task, overhead, and accent lights.
Take advantage of natural light coming from a window or skylight. Sunlight produces a warm glow that can improve the work environment. However, direct sunlight can also create overwhelming glare during specific times of the day.
Maximizing the power of natural light in your home office setup requires more than letting it in. The secret is strategically placing your workspace in the daylight without causing a glare on your screen.
Generally, natural light should be in front of or next to work surfaces and screens to prevent glare and provide an outside view. You can also position your workstation facing north or south so the sunlight doesn’t throw a shadow at any point in the day.
Consider using solar shades to soften and reduce the heat to accommodate varying brightness levels without compromising the view. Other alternatives are blinds and standing screens, which are excellent for diffusing sunlight through a window.
Choose Indirect Lighting
Avoid placing overhead lights directly over your workstation. Instead, look for ways to diffuse the ambient light. Lampshades soften and scatter light, while an upward-shining floor lamp bounces off ceilings and walls. The aim is to light up the entire space without creating glare and shadows.
Eliminate Glare and Shadows
Dodge that pesky glare by positioning your computer screen perpendicular to natural light sources, and avoid facing or opposing windows. Additionally, using matte screen covers and installing blinds or curtains can give you more control. Integrate task lighting with adjustable brightness to help ensure your space is glare-free.
Always consider where your light comes from. As you work on your computer, a light source behind you will likely create a distracting glare on your monitor. Take note of the location of windows when setting up your workspaces to ensure sunlight will not strike the computer screen directly.
You should also look out for unintended shadows cast by lamps. For instance, suppose you’re right-handed. Your hand and arm may cast shadows when you write if your task light is on the right.
Get the Right Temperature
Choosing the right color temperature for your home office lighting is a bit like selecting the perfect outfit — it all depends on the occasion (or the task, in this case).
With its cozy and relaxing vibe, warm light works wonders during brainstorming sessions or to prevent eye strain while reading. Conversely, bright blue-white light kicks productivity up a notch. It’s an excellent choice for tasks that require sharp focus, such as document editing or drafting designs.
When it comes down to deciding on how to light your workspace to bring out your most productive side, many people use cool, blue light. The key lies in the fact that blue light closely mimics natural daylight.
That is important because some of our bodies’ natural processes (like producing melatonin, a sleep hormone) are tied directly to our exposure to natural light. Basking in a cool blue glow while working will stop your body from going into sleep mode. That’ll give you the energy you need to complete even more work.
With the flexibility to select from over 16 million colors instantly, thanks to most smart lighting systems, you can tap into this productivity boost whenever necessary.
However, just because you can bio-hack your body into thinking it’s daytime well past sunset doesn’t mean you should. As many recent studies have shown, exposure to blue light, in particular, is more disruptive to your body’s sleep patterns than any other color (which is why it’s so helpful in keeping you productive!).
That’s why many offices worldwide are investing in transitional color lights. They start by producing cool, energizing blue light in the morning and gradually change to warmer yellow as it approaches quitting time. The transition can reduce burnout in the home office because it helps ease you out of the working mindset. It allows you to enjoy your time at home better and help you get a better night’s sleep.
If you own high-quality smart bulbs, you can reap these benefits by setting an eight-hour transition from cool-colored light to warmer tones. When revamping your home office space, it only takes a new light bulb to significantly affect your well-being.
Take Control
While you might assume that brighter lights mean more productivity, that is not always true. In fact, people may already be getting too much light in the workplace. Lighting that is too bright can cause fluctuations in your mood, resulting in irritability and discomfort. There are also unwanted physical effects, such as headaches and eye fatigue. On the other hand, dim lighting may lull you into a midday nap.
Achieving optimal lighting is the key. It involves selecting bulbs with the ideal brightness for various tasks. Consider the specific lighting needs: reading or writing may demand ample brightness in a home office, while tasks like Excel or internet research may require less illumination.
The solution is lighting fixtures that allow you to change the brightness levels to cater to your activities. When it comes to adaptable home office lighting, dimmers take center stage.
These devices let you modify the lighting according to the task or time of day, promoting optimal eye comfort and energy efficiency. You can create the ideal lighting scenario for every situation with a dimmer or dimmable lamp. It’s a minor adjustment that significantly impacts creating a harmonious setup when revamping your home business space.
Smart lighting is another option. Many smart bulbs allow you to save lighting settings, letting you quickly pick out the atmosphere that’ll fit the task at hand. You can also do it from your phone, so that’s total control at your fingertips.
Create Task Lighting
Task lights illuminate your work without creating shadows or glare. Desk and table lamps allow you to direct light exactly where you need it, preventing eye fatigue.
For focus-intensive tasks, choose an articulated desk lamp you can direct to illuminate precisely where you need it and support a variety of functions. Suppose your home office has multiple workstations like a desk for computer work, a filing area, and a table for reviewing photos and layouts. In that case, you should set up dedicated task lighting for each station.
Add Uniqueness with Accent Lighting
Your home office will feature ambient lighting diffused throughout your space and task lighting concentrating on your workstation. However, you can go beyond these two functional layers of light when revamping your home business space. Adding several decorative touches with accent lighting will make your office look great.
You can draw attention to your collections or other objects to add a spark of character. For example, try placing LED strips inside a shelving unit or adjustable downlights with a narrow beam angle to highlight pictures.
Illuminating the Path to Productivity
Revamping your home business space with the right lighting is more than just a matter of aesthetics. It creates an environment that boosts productivity, enhances mood, and supports health.
You can create a work area that looks good and promotes efficiency and well-being. Remember, the proper lighting can transform your work from feeling like a chore to a more enjoyable and fruitful endeavor. So, take the time to assess your lighting needs and make the necessary adjustments. Your home office isn’t just a place where you work; it’s a space where your best ideas can flourish.
The post Revamping Your Home Business Space: Lighting Edition appeared first on Home Business Magazine.
