Pro Tip: Lighting is what makes a place look expensive
I’ve recently been researching a self-started theory that lighting is what makes a place look expensive.
I want to write about it today on the blog because I think this has the potential to be an incredible way to transform and upgrade your living space on an incredibly cheap budget.
There were two experiences I had that led me to this theory. The first happened a couple months ago, when my friend Celia and I were visiting Austin, Texas for Fourth of July weekend. We were walking around a neighborhood in the evening when I saw a gorgeous house. I immediately pointed it out to her and claimed that I wanted to live there one day, but when we got closer to it, I realized the house wasn’t actually that impressive.
But it looked impressive because it had phenomenal landscape lighting.
There were small lights underneath the trees on their property, lighting them up from below and giving them dimension. There were large lanterns on their front porch, casting these orbs around the house that made the entire thing glow. And I realized that the lighting made the house look expensive, when in reality it was a pretty small house.
The best way I can describe the lighting with visuals is to compare to the new park in New York City - Little Island. The park is great, but it looks like a typical park during the day, and it looks like a masterpiece at night. Whoever installed the lighting there did a wonderful job - because check out this night and day (haha, literally) comparison.
See how the trees are lit up from below and it gives them this majestic look? Or how the edges of the walkway are lighted which makes it look dreamy? It just adds this whole other dimension to the area.
But this theory isn’t just for outdoor landscaping (although this new realization now has me interested in outdoor landscaping which I never would have thought to be interested in haha) it’s also for interior design.
Kylie Jenner posted this tweet about a year ago, and my first thought when I saw it was fuck this bitch and also, after a bit of honest self-reflection, I am jealous of her because that’s the most gorgeous photo of a house I’ve seen in a while.
Of course, everything in the photo is wildly impressive. There’s a wine room in her room. The bench alone must be over $4,000 and the stairs I mean…the stairs.
But look at the photo closely and pay attention to the lighting in the photo.
There’s a variety of different lights in her wine cellar (okay, wine room) and she also has a light on that gorgeous bench that’s casting shadows on the wall and the bench below.
It adds so much depth to the photo and makes the space look 10x more impressive than it is. I know it’s hard, but try to imagine that photo with no lighting, and a grey overcast day outside. It would make the place look a bit big, empty and lonely wouldn’t it? Because none of the items in Kylie’s photos are that warm or homey, but the lighting makes it appear that way.
So I decided to test my theory in my own apartment.
Were my overhead lights making my apartment look cheap? Could table lamps and standing lamps be the solution to an upgraded interior look?
Here’s what my apartment looks like on the left with overhead lights, and then here’s what it looks like on the right, when you add in lamps (table and floor) as lighting:
It’s a simple, subtle change but I found it very noticeable (it’s especially noticeable in person, so just trust me on that. Or come over. You’re invited!)
With my overhead lights on, my apartment looked like an apartment. But with my overhead lights off, and lamps on, my apartment looked like a home. It just looked elevated and refined in a way that I couldn’t put my finger on before.
So if you’re looking to spice up your space but you have no money to spare, try focusing on your lamps for a few days, and avoiding your overhead lights.
And if you’re looking to really dive into this experiment and spend some money…may I offer you a hack? I shop on T J Maxx “Home” online so I can get expensive lamps at a normal price. The lamp by my bed is Tommy Hilfiger and I got it for a big discount through T J Maxx. I am a Maxxinista through and through.
(Or if you’re interested in my standing floor lamp over the couch, you can get it on Amazon here)
So let me know what your thoughts are on this theory. Have you always know this and I’m late to the party? Are you shook by the power of the table lamp?
Until the next one,
S