Its true to say that the correct lighting – whether functional or ambient – can really help ‘finish off’ the perfect look for your kitchen, or indeed any other room. So let’s find out a bit more about them.
Firstly, LED stands for ‘Light Emitting Diode’. LEDs are therefore very small electrical components the give off light when an electrical current is passed through them. The electrical requirement is actually quite low, much lower than normal lighting, yet the light they give off is really quite substantial. LEDs used to have a reputation for being quite harsh and cold and not very easy on the eye. However, over time as the domestic usage has increased, so too has the quality, and colour options. It’s now possible to have a more yellow based light, much softer and more friendly.
At Kevin Jones, we use LEDs to enhance to overall ambience of a kitchen, and in fact other rooms as well. In a recent report published in the American Journal of Consumer Psychology points to the fact that light intensity can have an impact on our emotions, both positively and negatively. According to researcher Alison Jing Xu from the University of Scarborough near Toronto “evidence shows that on sunny days people are more optimistic about the stock market, report higher wellbeing and are more helpful while extended exposure to dark, gloomy days can result in seasonal affective disorder.”
The intensity of light could also have an impact on the intensity of our emotions, a new study suggests. Research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology shows that the more intense the lighting, the greater a person’s emotions — both positive and negative.
“Other evidence shows that on sunny days people are more optimistic about the stock market, report higher wellbeing and are more helpful while extended exposure to dark, gloomy days can result in seasonal affective disorder,” study researcher Alison Jing Xu, an assistant professor of management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, said in a statement. “Contrary to these results, we found that on sunny days depression-prone people actually become more depressed.” The research included experiments where people were put into rooms with bright and dim lighting and included asking about taste, attraction to other people and their reaction to various words: positive and negative. In the well lit environment, they reported enhance taste, higher level of physical attraction and reacted more positively to positive words than when in a dimly lit environment.
Of course living in Spain, we all feel this without realising it. A few days of cloudy skies – often a trip back to the not so yummy UK, leaves us feeling a little grumpier. So we use LED lighting to add to not only to the attractiveness of certain kitchens, but also in the knowledge that nice lighting makes us generally feel better!
If you’re considering a new kitchen, come and have a chat with our design team at Kevin Jones and don’t forget to say the magic word “L-E-Ds”.
