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Starting out small? Six tips for your first smart lighting setup.

4 minutes à lire

Smart lighting used to be known as something for techies. It used to be tricky to install, in addition to requiring a lot of planning and multiple types of devices. With the advent of smart WiFi bulbs, those days are long gone! All you have to do nowadays is plug in a smart WiFi bulb, download the app, and you’re good to go.

Smart lighting has never been easier. This way you can focus on what’s most important; figuring out where to place them to light up your perfect home. We’ve asked Bianca van Schie, a professional interior designer from the Netherlands, how she would use our new Innr WiFi bulbs. With the goal of showcasing how to start out small in the best way possible, we asked her to limit herself to only four bulbs.

Be smart like Bianca.

“The first mistake people usually make is to start with the lighting and then place the furniture around it. My advice would be to start by positioning your furniture the way you want it, then look at the function of every area you want to light up. This way, you can create the perfect lighting for every situation. Of course, with the smart WiFi bulbs, one area can now have multiple functions. This opens up a lot of opportunities.” Bianca said.

Start by positioning your furniture and then look at the function of every area you want to light up

I’ve made my cozy corner, now what do I do?

So you’ve created your areas and figured out their functions—a reading corner, the dining area, a yoga or gaming zone, etc. Now you can start lighting them to fit your needs. We’ve bundled Bianca’s insights in the following six tips.

Start with smart lighting? Start with smart WiFi bulbs & download the app

1. Use multiple light sources

Avoid using a solitary ceiling lamp to light up the entire room. Instead, use multiple smaller light sources to evenly distribute the light across your room. If you’re depending on one ceiling light, the light coming from that area will generally be too bright. This takes away that cozy feeling of “gezelligheid” that the Dutch are so in love with.

2. Create spaciousness

Placing lights in corners creates a more spacious feeling; using a floor lamp or a pendant lamp hanging from the ceiling will give the best effect.

3. Start with a few bulbs

Start out with a few smart bulbs instead of just one. Replacing only one bulb means the lighting might clash with your other lights, making it feel out of place. Start out with around four bulbs and have them work together to get the most out of the smart bulbs.

When using colors, subtlety is key. For example: use the same color of your wall to deepen the effect, or accentuate the green of a plant.

4. Add colour subtly

When using colors, subtlety is key. Although it can be fun to have a rainbow disco in your living room, colored lighting is best used to highlight certain features of that specific area. If you have a colored wall, you can set the lights to the same color to deepen the effect. If you have a lot of plants near your lamp, you might want to try a subtle shade of green to accentuate them. Using colored lighting can bring out the best of your living space—just use them in moderation!

5. Use indirect light

Make sure you’re not staring directly into a bulb from where you’re sitting or standing. Either use a light shade, face the bulb away from you, or hide it somewhere (inside a bookshelf, for example).

6. Be creative and experimental

Every home is different. If you can’t seem to get your interior styled exactly the way you want, ask around for an interior designer like Bianca or ask someone you know with good taste to help you out.

Smarten up your WiFi lights with voice control, like Google Assistant or Alexa

The finishing touch – Smarten up with voice control

Want to take your WiFi bulbs to the next level? Connect the app to a smart assistant like Google Assistant or Alexa. Simply open up the Innr for WiFi app and connect your accounts. Our custom-designed app will take you by the hand and guide you through the setup process. Getting smarter can be as easy as one-two-three!

Start with smart lighting: start with WiFi bulbs is easy

The world is your oyster, or at least your home is.

With millions of colors and tons of different ways to place your lights, the possibilities for smart lighting are endless. Are you looking to start out small? Have a look at our recommended bulbs in the link below and you’ll be on your way to light up your perfect home, exactly the way you want.

See which bulbs you can start with

Special thanks to Bianca of Bica Styling, who was kind enough to share her knowledge of interior styling and lighting.