fun lighting must-haves!

Over the last year I’ve developed a bit of a lighting obsession. I think it may have started with the lights my landlord installed under the kitchen cabinets. One strand and it just adds so much to the entire room. They were apologetic because they thought it would look cooler but I LOVED it.

Since the beginning of the year I’ve slowly but surely been adding to our little collection of neat-o lights. One purchase last week just completed the living room. I knew immediately I needed to do a little round up of what we’ve got going on over here, and show off my favorites!

I feel like I shouldn’t be starting with my favorite first but I am honestly just over the moon about this purchase – LED light strips for behind my television! There hasn’t been one night since I bought these that I didn’t say “OH MY GOSH, our living room is amaaaazing!” Twenty bucks well spents for sure.

We have a 55 inch televeision, and I bought two strands of the LED strips. I started each strip in the middle of the television and ran them down their own side. They reach a little bit past half way. I was worried it would be obvious and look like we skimped but it puts off the perfect amount of lighting! You can’t even tell it doesn’t reach the bottom of the tv. If your tv is much bigger I’d probably recommend getting a third strip though.

You can adjust the brightness, as well as choose from different colors and patterns. I absolutely love the smooth fade pattern that cycles between colors so that’s all we’ve had going on over here. At first we were like “Oh no, we can’t have it on the color cycling option because they won’t match up” which is true. Randomly they will match up for a handful of colors but then each strip goes it’s separate way. Luckily, I actually like it even more with each strip doing it’s own thing.

When I sent my mom a video of the lights in motion she asked if they were distracting. I don’t think so at all. If anything, they’re very relaxing. When I’m actually concentrating on what I’m watching I don’t even notice them. Don’t quote me, I’m just a lighting obsessed blogger, but I feel like they also reduce eye strain. You’re not just staring at this bright white tv. There is ambient light while the room still has that perfect cozy evening movie watching vibe.

I already want more of them. I don’t know where I’ll put them but I know I need more of these in my apartment… that’s how much I love them.

PS. A lot of the reviews mention the adhesive on the back of the strips isn’t strong enough to actually hold them up but so far we haven’t had any issues. Make sure to clean whatever surface you’re applying them to first, and press them down hard! 

MagicLight Bluetooth LED bulbs. We have two of these that are in the lamps on each side of the couch. Just another fun little thing to add some color to the room. Controlled via the MagicLight app, they work just like regular bulbs except way cooler. You can make them any color on the color wheel shown above, dim them or turn the brightness all the way up. From the app you’re able to schedule the bulbs to turn on or off at certain times. You can even have them pulse to your music, and display different patterns, among many other silly little options I never actually use. If you have more than one you can control them seperately or together.

The bulbs and the app were easy to set up. At around 30 dollars per bulb they’re not exactly cheap but they do seem to be the best option if you’re looking for smart bulbs, especially since they don’t require you to purchase a hub. You just need the bulb, and the app (which is free.) We’ve had these since January with zero issues. For the longest time we basically just used them as regular bulbs, on the warm white setting. Now that we have the tv lights, the lamps are usually set to a shade of blue and green. It’s really neat because of the small mirror we have hanging above the television, as seen in the first photo in this post, it reflects whatever is on the lamps.

Never thought I’d be posting a photo of my toilet on this blog but here we are! I bought this motion activated toilet night light for Jeff as joke for this birthday. Well… we both ended up loving it. You can set it to a single color or have it cycle through the colors. We always have it set to cycle through. It’s one of my favorite little thing, such a cheap way to add something fun to your bathroom. The first time anyone came over after we got it they heard “go look at the toilet!!” Nearly eight full months and it’s still going strong. If this one were to break or otherwise quit working, I would absolutely repurchase.

Other fun lights around my apartment…

String light lamp. It doesn’t put off much light at all. It’s really just for decoration but I absolutely love it. It’s battery operated and has an on/off switch on the bottom so it’s best placed somewhere easy to access.

Another light just for decor purposes, vintage exit sign. Just a fun garage sale find that fits in perfectly with the rest of my weird stuff. There are lots of light up exit signs to be found online – like this one that also comes in green letters! They’re pretty affordable too.

Oversized light bulb. My parents got me this for my birthday and it probably couldn’t have come at a more perfect time since we had just gotten the tv lights. This oversized bulb hangs above the bookcase in a corner of the room that otherwise has no lighting. It puts off the perfect amount of light where it can be on at the same time as the television LED strips and not be overwhelming.

I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to hang it since I’d never had something this like this before but I just purchased this 15-foot hanging lantern cord and it actually came with all the supplies I needed. Easy peasy, and it looks awesome!

Marble and gold desk lamp. Out of all of the lights, this is easily the one I turn on the least. It’s very bright, and where I have it placed makes it more of a decorative piece than one that actually serves a purpose. When turned on it’s basically just a huge ball of light. It would look a lot nicer somewhere the light was able to be dispersed. I just really like it where it is, fits in perfectly with the rest of the items on my bookshelf.

So basically, I’m obsessed with my apartment. It’s funny how much lighting can change the whole vibe of a place. Safe to say, I’m hooked. I can’t imagine this place without them now. Probably time to start adding some cool lights to my bedroom now…
xoxo

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