We know that lighting can set the mood in your home, but did you know that you can use lighting to affect your mood as well?
Different colours can have different impacts on how you're feeling:
- Blue: Increases attentiveness
- Red: Increases melatonin, helping you sleep
- Green: Improved concentration
- Purple: Increases creativity
- Orange: Increases enthusiasm
Australian smart lighting company LIFX co-founder Marc Alexander said that colour is something we all see and feel differently.
"Research shows we all interpret the colour spectrum slightly differently, which means having the option to select the right shade for your home or business is critical in making you feel relaxed and comfortable," Alexander said.
"The various impacts that colour can have on your mood and lifestyle are so fascinating.
"For example, by eliminating the exposure of blue light in screen time, and using the LIFX lighting feature - 'Day and Dusk' - users are able to regulate their circadian sleep cycles, to fall asleep and wake up more naturally. This feature can be used instead of an alarm clock."
Residential lighting expert and Director of MINT Lighting Design, Adele Locke, said that the key to incorporating coloured light into your home is to look at how you can build it into your overall design scheme - looking at a mix of feature and accent lighting - to ensure considered placement and maximum impact.
"Designers have ingrained in us the value of paint, finishes and furnishings in a space to enhance personalisation, but with light you can create a completely immersive and bespoke experience.
"Coloured light is an underutilised design feature and can transform the way you feel, the way your room feels - which creates a design impact never before seen or felt," she said.
"Artists all over the world use the unique benefit of coloured light to create moods and emotions everywhere from stages to galleries. It's more than aesthetics - it taps directly into a deep, emotional part of your brain."
Founder of meditation school Mindspo, Chris Soll, uses LIFX smart lighting to create a multitude of sensory effects throughout his new meditation retreat in Canggu, Bali.
"The purpose of setting up the Mindspo Mansion was to provide a space where people can relax, let their guard down and learn to improve their mental health through meditation. I've long been a fan of colour gradients, so I've been loving the possibilities in setting up the different areas of the house with so many lights," Chris said.
"Personally I notice that orange hues as well as rose-gold hues are most conducive to creating a relaxing environment, one that stimulates conversation and a sense of serenity. Purple and pink has been amazing for our All Girls Self Love Retreats, it's such an inspiration and unique colour to fill a house with, it really gets people thinking and feeling differently, in the right direction."
LIFX smart lights enable renters, owner-occupiers and businesses to tap into more than 16 million colours to create personalised lighting design environments. Prices range from $69.99 for the LIFX Mini Colour which works for localised areas through to $399.99 for a five set tile kit including pre-set coloured themes, such as 'Dance Party' or 'Downtime', available through the LIFX app.