With the sometimes gloomy autumn/winter season approaching, many of us think about how to create a cosy and light atmosphere in the wooden log home. Of course it’s not possible to replicate sunlight with artificial light, but it is possible and even necessary to arrange your home lighting in a way that you live through the more ‘gloomier’ times of the year in a much more comfortable way.
Even if they don't like big shopping centres, most people would agree that these places become more attractive in autumn/winter evening time. And the reason for it is probably the fact that there is a lot of light inside your house, apartment or log cabin while it is so dark outside. It is known that Northern countries pay a lot of attention to light therapy, however, the positive effects of light are also widely discussed in Southern countries, for example in Italy. The recommendations you'll find below are based on the experiences of both Northern and Southern countries where most of people live in a log home or other wooden buildings.
If you buy or build a log home by yourself, it is important to find out which side ‒ north, south, east or west ‒ the windows of each of the bedrooms, the children’s room and other rooms are facing. It’s important to let in as much sunlight as possible into your living space, as sunlight is the best energy source and so vital to keep us in good spirits.
Morning sunlight will be the perfect alarm clock in the kitchen, an office is best situated on the north side of the log house creating an atmosphere conducive to working, while a sunset view would fit perfectly for the sitting room.
It’s without doubt that the correct projection and intensity of the log home lighting, including the lighting of the working place and decorative lighting of certain areas, will definitely enhance your feelings of relaxation and ensure that you enjoy your home atmosphere.
It is important to be aware of the main units of illuminance, i.e. fluxes (lux) by which the intensity of the light is measured. This information can be found on all bulb packages. For example, for work places it is recommended to have 500 lux, for the sitting room around 300 lux will be enough, while for general lighting up to 200 lux will be sufficient for most needs.
For example, in public places the intensity of light fluctuates from 500 lux to 1000 lux, while on a sunny day the intensity of natural sunlight reaches up to 15000 lux (on a gloomy day - up to 1750 lux. These figures show what a difference in light intensity we face when the autumn/winter seasons come. It is important to know that the light quantity also depends upon log home interior colours (for example, a dark interior absorbs the light), the size of the rooms, the quantity of furniture and other decorative elements.
Since we live on a northern latitude, it is quite natural that we want to get more warmth. In the interior it can be achieved via warmer light.
A warmer light is spread by incandescent and halogen bulbs, however, these can be successfully replaced by modern bulbs which also spread warm light (both fluorescent and LED bulbs can be found with features similar to incandescent or halogen bulbs).
It’s also important to remember that the need to get away from darkness does not mean that you have to light every 1m or so. Think about zones, create light relaxation zones in your log home, for example, in the bathroom, in the sitting room, in the winter garden or in a glazed terrace.
Don’t forget the zones which are used for recreational purposes. Sometimes it is worth to seeking the advice of professional lighting specialists.
