Lighting on a Budget – Simple Ideas to Transform your Home

Looking for ways to finish that renovation, or give your home a refresh, without breaking the budget?  It can be as simple as changing, or adding, the right lighting!  It’s lighting on a budget, simple lighting changes that will transform your spaces, and add your style and personality to really bring a fresh feel to your home!

We say it a lot, but, lighting really does make everything better!  And, with some cost effective lighting ideas, you really can make significant changes to your home without breaking the budget!

Lighting on a Budget with DIY

DIY batten fix light fittings

Never considered yourself a handy of person?  With DIY lighting, you don’t need to be!  And, it ticks the brief for lighting on a budget!

DIY light fixtures are generally used with existing batten fix light fittings.  While a lot of modern homes are switching to downlights as the overall light source, there are still a lot of homes that use batten fix.

So what is a batten fix?  A batten fix is a common light fitting that is simply a single lamp holder connected or wired to the ceiling or wall.  A batten fix will take a BC, or bayonet cap, style globe. Also known as a B22 globe, it is a type of globe that his two pins that hold the globe in place. The globe is generally gently pushed in an upward motion into the batten fixture, and turned to “lock” the pins in place.

A batten fix light fitting is simply a light fitting designed to “cover” or hide your batten fix.  To install, you simply remove the skirt on the batten fix (this usually unscrews), slide the metalware of your fitting over the exposed batten fix, and replace the skirt!

Batten fix light fittings do not have to be limited to flush ceiling fittings.  There are also options for hanging kits that will allow you to hang pendant lights from your batten fix.  Alternatively, you might cover your bare batten fix with a batten fix cover and then add a filament globe to make a simple elegant statement.

Batten fix light fittings are the ultimate DIY lighting solution.  Inject your style and personality into a space, all without an electrician!

Some of our favourite batten fix light fittings for lighting on a budget include:

Lamps

Yes, lamps!  Spruce up your room décor with lamps, table lamps, floor lamps, desk lamps, the choices really are almost endless here!

Lamps are a great lighting solution for a number of reasons.

• They are a cost effective way of injecting personality and life into a space:
• They are portable, so you can mix, match, rearrange as often as you like to create a different feel or mood;
• They are an energy saving solution.  Instead of turning all your overhead lights on for simple tasks, just switch on your lamp for focused illumination that can also create mood;
• They allow you to enhance your current lighting scheme by adding a layer of light; and
• They are literally plug and go, DIY without the DIY!

Globes

If you are lighting your home on a budget, changing out your light globes would have to be the simplest change you can make!

In recent years, we have moved away from using traditional incandescent globes in our home, and moved toward the more energy efficient LED options.  And there are good reasons why this has happened. 

LED light globes work by passing electric current through a semiconducting material, the diode.  Instead of emitting light from a vacuum (as is the case of an incandescent globe) or a gas (as in a CFL), an LED works by connecting a positive and negative current through the diode to create energy that is released in the form of light.

As LED globes emit little heat, meaning most of the energy they produce is used to radiate light rather than heat, they are extremely energy efficient compared to traditional globes that emit most of their energy as heat. 

As well as being energy efficient, LED globes have a longer life span than their traditional counterparts, on average around 30,000 hours for a household LED globe.  So, while they might be a little bit more expensive upfront, when you compare the costs of running LED compared to traditional incandescent, the energy savings over the lifespan of your globes far outweigh the slightly higher upfront costs.

The other great thing about LED globes is that advancements in LED technology have meant you can buy LED globes that resemble the old world charm of traditional incandescent globes.  The LED filament globe is perfect for adding character and giving new life to existing light fittings, or even to those boring batten fixes.

If you are looking at lighting on a budget, there is more than one reason to include LED globes as part of that budget!

Strip Lighting

Another great budget saving DIY option is strip lighting.  The DIY Flexible LED Strip RGB Light Kit for instance is plug and play in a 5m length, with remote control included, and is app compatible. 

Strip lighting is generally completely customisable to your needs and space, and is a simple, inexpensive lighting choice with big impact, so if you are looking to finish your lighting on a budget that won’t break the bank, strip lighting is ideal.

See our blog post 6 Decorating Ideas for LED Strip Lighting to get inspired with strip lighting in your home.

It doesn’t have to all be DIY though.  You can make some really big changes to your home with other lighting options for less than you might think.

Pendant Lighting

Add another dimension to your spaces without the paint, or the new furniture!  Pendant lights are perfect for adding depth and warmth, and for really letting your personality shine!

While you will need the electrician for installation, there are some really inexpensive pendant lights that will give you the wow factor without the price tag. Find your statement piece, while still keeping your planned lighting on a budget.

Some of our best sellers under $150 include:

Other Lighting Ideas to Save your Budget

Here are a few other simple, budget friendly tips to help you transform your spaces with lighting.

• Add lights that help your other décor shine.  You might add a new piece of artwork, or a new decorative item.  Lighting can really help make these shine.  Think spotlights or adjustable track lighting, where you can set, and change the direction of light as desired.
• Use mirrors to reflect the light in your spaces.  This works well for reflecting natural light as well as from your light fittings.
• Add string lights.  Who doesn’t love string lighting?!  It’s inexpensive, it’s DIY, and it really can change the mood and ambience of a space.  And, they’re perfect for indoor and outdoor use!
• The number one rule of any good lighting plan … create layers of light.  If you are budget conscious, you might spend a little more on your statement piece and then layer this with more inexpensive options.  Your statement piece will shine, and your room will feel inviting, and most importantly, tick all the functionality boxes.
• Try some smart lighting options.  There are some really good inexpensive options for you to dip your toe into smart lighting.  Like the Smart WiFi LED RGB plus Warm White Globe, or the HPM Smart Downlight.  They can also save you in the long run too.  By having greater ease and control of when and for how long your lighting is switched on, you should see some energy saving benefits too.

For more budget friendly lighting ideas, contact the lighting experts at Rovert Lighting & Electrical.