Tips for Home Office Lighting

When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started, almost all of us were required to stay home. This means that we are supposed to do our normal day-to-day stuff like studying and working at home. We bring home paperwork and try to accomplish different online tasks in our home that turned into an office. To become more productive and finish all these tasks, we should have an office with an atmosphere conducive to learning. One way to make this possible is to have better office lighting. Harshly bright lighting could be bad for your eyes, and it can cause migraines. However, a too dim light could also give you an eye strain and make you feel more sleepy and tired. So, here are some things you would want to consider to have a better home office lightning, which would help you to become more efficient in doing your tasks.

laptop placed on the wooden table, a girl wearing a hat standing near the window, two big windows with blinds

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NATURAL LIGHT

Put your office in the part of your home which receives plenty amount of natural light. A room with big windows would be perfect for your office. Sunlight produces warm light, which promotes a very relaxing environment that could inspire you to work. Besides, using natural light could reduce eye strain and headaches from all of the filings and zoom meetings throughout the day. Also, if you think that the natural light is too much, you could always resort to blinds, curtains, or shutters.

TEMPERATURE OF LIGHTING

The lighting temperature varies on your activities in the office. If you want to relax after a long day of work, you could use a warmer yellow light. However, if you want to stay more productive and concentrate more on working, then cooler lights will do. Remember that in the morning, blue and white lights in a cool tone should be used to avoid drowsiness and be more alert, and as the sun sets, warmer tones of light could be used to help you calm down rest after the busy hour of working.

OVERHEAD LIGHTS SHOULD BE INDIRECT

Overhead lights can produce a direct glare, which is not very pleasing to the eyes when working. You could use lampshades, which help in softening and scattering the harsh lights. It is also a good idea to use an upward shining floor lamp because it could illuminate the whole office by bouncing off the lights to the walls and ceilings, avoiding direct glare that could cast shadows and affect your work.

ADJUSTABLE DESK LAMPS

If you do a lot of computer works and tasks which require in-depth focus, you might need adjustable desk lamps. That way, you can adjust the light exactly where you need it to be. Aside from being a flexible light, it is also easily moveable, perfect for supporting different types of tasks for work.

CONSIDER THE LOCATION OF YOUR WORKSPACE

Putting your work table in front of a window or a light source would most likely produce a bright glare on your monitor, and you would not like that because you probably won’t see what you are doing. Besides, avoid places that make shadow casts. When you are right-handed, avoid putting your lights on the right side of your desk because this would just cast your hand’s shadow. The same goes for the left-handed people.

USE LED LIGHTS

When working in a home office, you might want to consider using LED lights instead of fluorescent lights. LED lights are energy-efficient lights, and aside from this, they last longer than fluorescent lights. Using LED lights would help you save money. These lights can also be controlled. You can easily dim them or brighten them up, depending on the time of the day you are using them.

ARRANGE YOUR LIGHTING FIXTURES

Where you place your lights is essential in making a productive home office. Ensure that you place your lighting fixtures not too close to you since they can be a little hot once you use them for a very long time. Putting them away from your workspace could also help widen the coverage of the lights, maximizing the usefulness of the whole space in the home office.

SOME ACCENT LIGHTS WOULD NOT HARM THE HOME OFFICE

Accent lights may not be so necessary, but they can be very pleasing and relaxing to the eyes. These lights could help you flex different areas in your workspace, places where you put your picture during your favorite trip, or the awards you won at work. Accent lights are like decorative objects that could help bring some visual character to the naked walls of your home office.