The Importance of Good Lighting
As we say so long to summer and watch the days get shorter, it seems like a great time to talk about lighting — a subject near and dear to my heart.
Have you ever gone into a store and wondered where to get help or pay for something? Great lighting is not just a retail thing! Here’s why . . .
Lighting as an Experience
Discussions about lighting are at the top of my list when doing an initial seller walkthrough. Like great retail, a home can have it all. But if you can’t see it, we’re not inclined to stay and buy. Great lighting creates the experience and leads one through it. It’s no different than dining with a nice pool of light at your table. It creates an intimate experience, making you and the food look better (and could there be a perception that it tastes better too?). You may even want to stay for dessert.
The best results can be seen when sellers detach from their home as the owner mentally makes that shift with me into marketing mode. It’s extremely beneficial to illuminate all that’s great! All the better if you can do that while you live there — it can be enjoyed and alter your mood.
Start with a Walkthrough
If you’ve worked with me in the past you know the painless walkthrough we’ll do to make sure that all the lighting has the same color temperature. Because we typically don’t do surgery at home, the cooler, bright, bluish white LED daylight lamps aren’t the best for relaxation or photography, as it highlights imperfections not only in the home but how we look and feel in it!
Solutions for Bad Lighting
As the days get shorter and fewer days are sunny, I too long for brighter lighting for various indoor winter tasks. A great solution to this are brighter lamps with dimmers. If you’ve ever switched everything to LED lighting, you know that if you plan to dim an LED you need both dimmable LED lamps and the dimmer switches designed for use with them. They are worth doing so you don’t have to deal with flickering!
Not every home nor every room in a home will have the luxury of being illuminated by sunlight or enough recessed fixtures. Carefully placed mirrors to reflect light, as well as other decorative fixtures — wall sconces and pendants — can downplay their absence. I prefer track lighting to be used sparingly.
Better Lighting = A Sold Home
How much will good lighting add to the value you of your home? It’s definitely a big part of the presentation piece and we know that, statistically, homes that are styled or staged sell for more money and sell faster. Add to this a professional photographer trained in real estate photography, and the sooner we get to SOLD!
For more on lighting, check out the article here.
