The Importance of Ambiance

My apartment: pre-ambiance morgue lightingApartments in Japan are notoriously small, and I just moved into one that is a grand total of 9.5 by 10.5 feet. Four white walls and a single glaring overhead light; not exactly the spacious bachelorette pad a girl dreams of decorating. I was faced with a dilemma: how to make this closet of an apartment feel cozy and homey, instead of like a morgue. 

The answer: ambiance. Lighting is one of the most important, and most overlooked, features of a room. It sets the tone, the atmosphere for your entire space. And you don’t even have to go out and spend a ton of money on fancy sconces and chandeliers. 

Voila! Ambiance.Some go-to staples for lighting any room: twinkle lights and prisms. Cheap, pretty, and whimsical. At night, twinkle lights give your room a magical glow. Who doesn’t love those gorgeous white lights at Christmas? This way you can have that effect year-round.

And prisms, in addition to being beautiful objects in their own right, add a touch of elegance when hung in the right place. I love putting them in the window so they catch the morning light.

Another good lighting choice is a tall, discreet corner lamp. It provides enough light for a room, but it’s unobtrusive. I got this one super cheap at Ikea.

PrismsOr if you don’t feel like running out and buying new lighting for your place, adapt what you already have. Stuck with an ugly table lamp? Drape a silk scarf over it to mute the light (while being wary of fire hazards, of course!) Have any candles lying around? Stick them on the mantle or float them in a bowl of water on the coffee table.

Use what you have, and be creative!

For more on making the most of your space, check out what eddie has to say on the subject:

A Proposal Between Organization & Decoration