Diwali is just around the corner, and it’s time to celebrate everything that is good in your life! Lighting is the essence of this delightful festival that is celebrated in every town and village across India. We share with you some lighting ideas to brighten your homes this Diwali and welcome the Festival of Light to your homes with some captivating sparkle.
Set the mood at your doorstep!
Hang a bunch of ornamental lanterns on a low branch outside your home, to get a unique look. You can get a similar effect with paper craftwork— have a look at this DIY video that we loved! Just make sure that you use lights that don’t heat up against the paper.
Add some old-world charm with tea lights and flowers
In your foyer, instead of cut flowers in a vase, fill sparkling glass bowls with water and float tea light candles interspersed with flowers on the surface. What a truly lovely way to welcome someone to your home!
Sprinkle some fairy dust on your indoor plants!
Some micro LED lights or rice lights, strung around an indoor plant with pretty leaves can brighten up a dark corner…almost like a sprinkling of some magical fairy dust! These lights come in multi-colour assortments and can be used to change the entire mood of your living area.
Work some magic on those old beer bottles!
The next time you have a party, don’t throw away those beer bottles. Cover them with crinkly cellophane in different colours, and stick a candle or a string of fairy lights inside to create a special kind of magic! Even without the cellophane, these bottles still look pretty special.
Get out the paper and scissors!
If you’re handy with a pair of scissors, you can experiment with some papercraft. Cut out five-petalled flowers, and stick layers of flowers together to form a lovely base for electric diyas. If you’re using the traditional diyas, then you should obviously remember that paper and fire are not a good combination. Try cutting some flowers out of used plastic bottles instead to get a similar effect.
Focus on corners
Set up a festive nook in a corner with glass votives and candles of assorted shapes and sizes. Throw in some pretty diffusers with aromatic oil to set the mood. If you light candles inside brass cutwork cages, the light will cast dancing shadows on the walls and add to the festive drama.
Get innovative with the rangoli
Rangolis add a touch of tradition to an Indian home…and at Diwali time, you should make it a point to decorate your home with the most colourful rangolis. Get creative…add holi colours, glitter, stars, paper cutouts, and diyas to add style to your rangoli and you will surely get compliments!
Don’t forget the Diyas!
While you should definitely try out all these new ideas, don’t forget the diyas….for at Diwali time, diyas spell tradition! What you can do to put your unique spin on terracotta diyas is to try painting them yourself. Pick out your favourite shades in Fevicryl, arm yourself with a paintbrush and you’re good to go! Stick on some tiny mirrors or sequins, and don’t forget to add the glitter!
A word of caution: This Diwali, all of us should try to go green….by all means, light up your homes— but do try to stay away from firecrackers that cause both sound and air pollution. The earth will thank you for it!
HomeLane wishing all our readers a happy and safe Diwali!
