May 15th, 2019 | Updated on May 17th, 2019
Books are truly magical. They can transport you from one place to another in seconds. It will always do you good to have a bookshelf at home. For those of you who have already set your reading room, here are a few tips to make the bookcases look magical and ethereal. It is essential for the reading room to be absolutely comfortable and well lit. It is just an added advantage when we can use the lights to create a magical feel to the study room.
1. Individual Shelf Lighting
This kind of illumination suits best when your bookcases consist of single extended selves without partitions. Most of the vintage bookshelves are designed exactly like this, substantial wooden cupboard with long shelves. For such shelves, lighting every individual shelf with LED lighting in the middle or placed at a distance from each other through the length of each shelf will make your study room look luxurious.
2. Random Shelf Lighting
For those of you who have modern study rooms, bookcases made up of multiple small shelves, random shelf lighting could be a great choice. Multiple shelves are always more comfortable and handy when compared to single long shelves. You can arrange books as well as decorate the study with other home décors like vases, picture frames, collectibles, bookends, paperweights, etc. For such shelves, you can play around with the lighting as per your mood. You can either go for placing a small LED light for each shelf, or you could get a little creative by lighting the shelves randomly for a funky, trendy look.
3. Front Lighting Or Backlighting Using LED Strips
Bookcase lighting can be made creative based on the positioning of the lights too. One of the positioning ideas is placing the lights either in front or at the back of the bookshelves. LED light strips can come handy in this kind of lighting ideas.
You can place the LED strip along the lengths of the bookcases, or multiple LED light strips at a distance from each other throughout the length and breadth of the bookshelf. You can do this by either positioning the flex LED light strips in the front of the shelves. This will give the bookshelf a very comfortably lit look and feel. On the other hand, you can place these strips behind the shelves. This will give the whole bookshelf a backlight and glow that makes the study look magical.
4. Top-Down Or Bottom-Up Bulbs
Another way of positioning the lights is by placing it on the bottom of the shelf with the light flow upwards or on top with the light flow downwards. With this positioning, you can decorate the bookcases creatively.
For example, if the shelf consists of any home décor products like vase or collectibles, placing the lights on the top would be the best choice. This way, the light will form a focus on the object on the shelf, creating a spotlight effect. On the other hand, if the case consists of books, then you can try positioning the light on the bottom of the shelf and arranging the books on top. This kind of dulls down the focus and creates an ethereal look.
5. Other Creative Lighting Ideas
One can play around with lights in many creative ways. Lights are not only to light up space anymore. They are now essential decors to make space look a lot more luxurious and trendy. Creativity is the first step towards taking simple lights and transforming a room with them. So here are a few creative ideas to use lights to spice up your study.
6. Lamps That Look Like Books
Using LED lights that emit warm white lights and encasing them into a book-like lantern is a creative way to add lighting to your bookshelf. You can place these lanterns randomly in the middle of your books and voila! Your bookcase looks a lot more magical!
7. Fairy Lights Into Random Patterns
Fairy lights are one of the most extensively used lighting arrangements when it comes to decorating. Be it birthdays, get together, wedding receptions, or just turning your room around and giving it a quirky look, fairy lights are your best friend. You can use these fairy lights study too, to decorate your bookcase with random patterns. You can also use them to create shapes like star, circle, rectangle, etc. on the walls of your study.
8. Lamps And Lanterns
Lamps are like a basic necessity when it comes to a study. However, they do not need to be the vintage, plain and dull looking ones. You can add some fun and patterns to the lamps for your study. Ornate-looking lanterns with a flame-like LED light is a cool way to add a magical touch to the bookshelf. On the other hand, ornate bird cages can be fitted with LED bulbs for a bright and yet, quirky looking lighting.
There are still a lot of creative DIY projects when it comes to lighting up your bookshelves. Play around with your creativity and imagination and of course bearing the budget too in your mind!
Conclusion
While decorating the bookcases and your study with lights, the trick is to create an ambiance of concentration and creativity. While brighter lights may seem distracting, warmer lights will make us feel lethargic. Hence in such cases, it would be best to go with LED lights that emit neutral white light. This creates the perfect and sober ambiance that is fit for such spaces. So, light up your bookcases with these ideas and get transported to a magical world of thoughts and imaginations the moment you step into your study room.
