Interiors
Bathe in the light: Creating the perfect bathtime ambience this
World Wellbeing Week
By Matthew Currington, Technical Director,
With World Wellbeing Week approaching, it serves as a reminder to take some time out of the day to prioritise wellbeing in 2025 and beyond.
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What could be a better way than by soaking in a hot tub in the sanctuary of your bathroom? Lighting is key in setting the right ambience to help you fully unwind or re-energise.
Here’s how to make your bathtime routine the ultimate wellness activity with lighting.
Try chromotherapy-inspired lighting
It is a well-known theory that colours impact our mood and wellbeing. For example, red light therapy is a trending alternative therapy for sleep and recovery. If you love luxuriating in an evening bath after a long day or a strenuous gym session, consider investing in a portable red light therapy lamp to accompany you while boosting your melatonin production for a good night’s sleep.
Blue light can help you feel refreshed, energised, and ready for any challenges the day has in store. A quiet blue light bath in the morning before an exam, presentation, interview, or big meeting could improve alertness and responsiveness. To ensure the blue light is adequate, you will need a colour temperature of 6500 to 7000 kelvin(K).
If you’re working on a budget, and specialist therapy lights are a bit of a stretch, most smart light bulbs have red, green, and blue (RGB) functionality, allowing you to change them into a rainbow of colours via an app on your phone.
Smart bulbs in your bathroom allow you to choose any colour light that resonates with you and how you feel on that particular day.
Synchronise scent and light
Like colours, different scents can positively affect our wellbeing, bringing calm and tranquillity to our day. During your bathtime routine, either in the morning or the evening, consider synchronising your light therapy with aromatherapy.
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Lavender can significantly reduce stress and feelings of anxiety and depression, making it a perfect pairing for a calming, red light bath. However, aromatherapy practitioners maintain that different scents can also positively affect our physical wellbeing and help to alleviate pain. Try rosemary, eucalyptus, camomile, marjoram, ylang-ylang, lemon, jasmine, and geranium. These scents can have anti-inflammatory effects, help fight infection, slow your breathing, and make you feel calm or stimulated.
Part of caring for your wellbeing is giving yourself a boost when feeling run down. For example, try combining an invigorating morning blue light bath with swathes of eucalyptus to help clear your sinuses and your head. You could use essential oils in a candle diffuser to benefit from the hypnotising dancing effect of the tea light flames. Alternatively, use a battery-powered diffuser to avoid dangerous power cables in the bathroom.
Layer your lighting
Colour therapy and aromatherapy aside, layering your light is key to creating an ambient environment essential to a calming bathtime routine. For example, while an overhead light is necessary for tasks like applying makeup and other grooming activities, it is not ambient.
Ambience comes into play through smaller sources of light dotted around the room to create a sense of warmth and depth. Consider placing wall lights and candle-style bulbs in your bathroom, evenly distributing them around the room. Wall sconces on either side of a vanity mirror are particularly charming, as the light reflects in the mirror, creating a cosy glow effect and enhancing their impact.
Even with ambient lighting, bathrooms can feel clinical. To make it feel cosier, it is important to ensure your bathroom is garnished with soft furnishings like textured hand towels, indoor plants, and decorative items. To take this a step further, consider dotting a few wireless, portable lamps on available tables or shelves in your bathroom to create a cosy, homely environment while giving off an ambient tone of light.
Matthew Currington, Technical Director
