More and more people are embracing a minimalist lifestyle. But it can be difficult to find furniture and fixtures that truly represent minimalist living. This article discusses minimalist lighting options.
Minimalist living is all about living with as little material things as possible. Minimalists live based on the philosophy that life is better lived based on experiences without a focus on worldly possessions. For those trying to get into the lifestyle, it’s a challenge to find furniture and fixtures that make transitioning into minimalism comfortable. Lighting is especially challenging as there is only so much natural lighting can do. The solution? Elco lighting.
Natural Light vs. Elco Lighting
When it comes to the minimalist lifestyle, less is more. Using natural light for one’s home is definitely the best option for minimalists as this reduces the number of artificial lighting fixtures that they need to purchase and rely on.
However, capitalizing on natural light for one’s home isn’t always possible. For one, not all states are as sunny as Florida. Another challenge towards maximizing natural light is that not everyone has control over the design of their homes. Some aspiring minimalists only choose to rent their homes as part of their less-is-best lifestyle.
Where natural light reliance isn’t possible, Elco lighting can step in.
What is Elco Lighting?
This company develops lighting products following the philosophy that high-quality lighting should be sold at a fair market price. This is perfect for minimalists whose lifestyle calls for having and spending less – they are able to get good lighting for a fair price.
The designs that this company offers also fit the minimalist lifestyle perfectly as they are not only simple, but each lighting fixture is designed to provide homeowners with as much light and with as big of a range as possible.
Maximizing Natural Lighting
There are many ways one can incorporate minimalist living and maximize natural lighting for their homes: skylights, big windows, bright walls, and mirrors.
Skylights
Skylights are a minimalist’s best friend for allowing natural lighting into their homes. They allow as much light as possible without having to sacrifice one’s privacy as they are mostly inaccessible to the public eye.
Unfortunately, such an option is unavailable for those minimalists living in apartment buildings or condominiums unless they have rooftop units.
Big Windows
Of course, the bigger the windows one has, the more natural light is allowed to enter. The problem with bigger windows is privacy; they can also allow peering eyes into a home. A minimalist’s solution for this would be to have these big windows in strategically placed locations – in places where the public eye cannot access. If one does not have control over the placement of these windows, light curtains can be added.
Bright Walls
A room painted in light, bright colors will make a room look and feel brighter even with minimal lighting. Dark walls can absorb natural light – defeating the purpose of maximizing it in the first place. Bright walls allow the natural light to spread across the room.
Mirrors and Other Reflective Surfaces
When one cannot control the construction or placement of the windows of their homes, they can “cheat” by using mirrors and reflective surfaces instead. Strategically placing mirrors around one’s home can help to reflect natural light to areas that don’t normally receive it.
When choosing furniture, it’d help to get them in reflective materials for the same purpose. It’ll be like hitting two birds with one stone.
Elco Light Minimalist Designs and Placements
Whether minimalist homeowners are able to maximize natural lighting in their homes or not, it’s still important to get good artificial lighting for when natural light is unavailable or limited.
Elco lighting doesn’t only offer residential lighting options, but commercial ones, too. Commercial lighting fixtures are often stronger than their residential counterparts so these can be attractive options for minimalists who don’t want to purchase that many lighting fixtures.
Hidden Ceiling Lighting
A minimalist lifestyle would call for lighting fixtures that don’t stand out. Hidden lighting fixtures are perfect for the lifestyle as one can have as many of these as they want without adding visual clutter to their home.
The Elco ERT441XXBZ 4” Square Ultra Slim Panel Overhead Lighting, as said in its product name, has a slim panel that is barely noticeable, making these the perfect hidden ceiling lighting fixtures for minimalist homes.
Adjustable Spot Lighting
One way to make the most out of the minimal artificial lighting fixtures in one’s home is to invest in adjustable spotlighting. While these lighting fixtures don’t light up entire large rooms, they can be adjusted to point towards areas where light is needed.
One can basically have just one of these lighting fixtures per room and adjust the fixture to point to wherever area they want. If this isn’t minimalist living, we don’t know what is!
The EL5111 5” Adjustable Spot Reflector with Transformer, EL5188 5” Adjustable Spot Pull Down with Transformer, and EL5110 5” Adjustable Spot Baffle with Transformer models are great minimalist choices for this type of lighting fixture. Their designs are pretty simple and they come in neutral colors.
Large Linear Track Lights
While large linear track light lighting fixtures aren’t exactly the most discreet of lighting fixtures, they can definitely light up a room well. Minimalists would only need one of these per large room and they’d have enough light to make the night feel like day.
The Elco ETL21XX Tarbuck Contemporary White LED Linear Track Light would make a nice addition to a minimalist home needing more artificial lighting.
Maximizing Artificial Light
The same way homeowners can maximize natural lighting, artificial lighting can be maximized as well. When done correctly, homeowners can forgo purchasing a lot of lighting fixtures just to make sure their homes are well lit even without natural lighting – thus truly living and representing a minimalist lifestyle.
While windows and skylights won’t do much for maximizing artificial lighting, brightly painted walls and reflective surfaces do.