FROM GLARING OFFICE-STYLE CEILING LIGHTING THAT MAKES YOU FEEL MORE LIKE YOU’RE SETTLING IN FOR AN INTERROGATION OR FORMAL INTERVIEW, RATHER THAN A COSY NIGHT IN, TO INCONVENIENTLY PLACED LAMPS AND THOSE ‘SHABBY CHIC’ LAMP SHADES THAT ARE LOOKING MORE SHABBY THAN CHIC THESE DAYS, IT’S SURPRISING HOW MUCH OUTDATED LIGHTING CAN AFFECT HOW YOU FEEL WHEN YOU COME HOME AT THE END OF A LONG DAY.

In between perusing the Urban Cottage Industries Lighting website, where we’ve been doing a little ‘research’ into new lighting styles (by which, of course we mean, online shopping under the guise of work) we’ve listed the five signs His & Hers looks out for to indicate it’s about time we updated our lighting!

1. You’re still rocking the same bare lightbulbs look that was in place when you moved in. And it’s not part of a minimalist design statement. And people keep asking whether you’ve just moved in. You’ve kind of adjusted to the glare, but deep down you know that investing in a simple light shade would make your house feel more like a home (and less like a hastily assembled office).
2. You own a floor lamp that you never use because it’s inconveniently located and you’re not willing to give up your cosy prime position on the sofa just to be able to see stuff easily. If this is you, His & Hers feels your pain. Our advice? Box off a bit of time to rearrange your lighting / furniture one weekend so that you can get to your lamp without having to cross to an awkward, chilly corner of the room in which you have to contort yourself to reach the ‘on’ switch.
3. You’re still leaning heavily on festive fairy lights to cosy up your home in the evening. Yes, everyone loves a bit of sparkle and fairy lights do add a certain je ne sais quoi to your living room that can be almost as hard to give up as chocolates that come in tubs at the end of the Christmas holidays. However, relaxing in the glow of your Christmas decs won’t make you feel like a fully fledged design savvy grown-up by the time summer rolls round. Happily, there’s a nice easy solution to this one. Just stock up on some non-Christmas-specific fairy lights and prepare to bask in their reflected glow all year round.
4. You invested in a statement light and either it doesn’t fit the space right or deep down you just don’t like it. But you spent too much on the thing to ditch it and start again. So now you’re just vaguely hoping that in time your dislike of your lighting will fade to ambivalence. Our advice? Get your nemesis lighting on your favourite online marketplace and replace it with something that doesn’t make you feel sad every time you switch the light on. Trust us, you’re worth it!
5. Your lighting gives you a little insight into the design style of the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s, and not in the good retro-chic way. This is a clear sign that it’s time to make a modest investment in your lighting and put your own stamp on your home.

For more inspiration for your home, please pay a visit to our interiors page.