Diwali is a festival, where home owners endeavour to illuminate their homes in various ways. Nowadays, there are various light decoration ideas for home options available in the local market and online stores, from humble earthen diyas and candles to LED and battery-operated lights and exclusive creations from designers. Enhance your home decor with these light decoration ideas for home.
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Light up the main door
When you focus on light decoration ideas for home, the front door has to be bright and welcoming on the day of Diwali. Use battery-operated rice lights all around the frame of the front door. Select a colour theme and use only two or three colours of diyas which blend with the colours of the rangoli design. Candles and traditional diyas look lovely when placed in a row. If space is limited when lighting for Diwali, then, opt for level lighting ideas or tall diya stands. When you look for light decoration ideas for home, cage pendant lamps are perfect for the main door. Lighten up the entrance ceiling with battery-operated strip lights.
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Decorate with diyas for Diwali
“Creative and artistic earthen diyas are not only reusable and colourful, but are also pocket friendly. There is a huge range of such diyas, available in shape of various flowers like rose, lotus and sunflowers for the main door. Diyas shaped like oranges, apple, melons, etc., are ideal for the dining table. Diyas with Om, Lakshmi and Ganesha designs, are ideal for the temple. For the passage and foyer, you can opt for funky, emoji-shaped diyas. Ornate gold and silver metal diyas, embellished with semi-precious gems, can be used to light up the living room,” suggests Khushboo Jain, founder, Urban Haveli, a home décor studio in Mumbai.
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Play around with floating diyas
Floating diyas are great decorative lighting ideas for the festive season. You can arrange diyas in small colourful glasses, huge glass bowl, or brass urlis filled with water. Think of creative patterns to arrange them – for example, in a swastika shape, or place one diya in each glass, or arrange 11 glasses on both sides of the main entrance. One can arrange diyas on a mirror tray with floating T-light diyas for a scintillating reflection . Decorate the water bowl with red rose or marigold petals.
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Use accent pieces for home lighting
During Diwali it is better to select lighting options, according to one’s home décor – for example, modern, Bohemian, ethnic, vintage and so on. “Wrought iron tea light stands are indigenous and made by local blacksmiths. These days, a variety of tea light holders are available, which are crafted in shapes of elephants, kettles, pots, human and animal figurines, which can be used in the living room as part of the light decoration ideas for home. Besides illuminating the home during Diwali, these holders also serve as showpiece items,” adds Jain.
Decorate balcony with fairy lights
Fairy lights are the best when it comes to balcony or garden illumination. Tie these Diwali lights around plants or branches of trees. Battery-operated fairy lights come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours. Falling LED lights can be fixed to the balcony railing edges, to depict some falling colours that make it look mesmerising. Bulb strings lights are trending, especially for outdoor areas.
Quick and inexpensive ways to light up the home
Diwali is also a time, when you can involve children in the decorations, as they usually have vacations or holidays. “You can get them involved by letting them paint earthen diyas, which can then be arranged on a rangoli. Opt for mirchi lights around the doorways and for the temple, hang tiny lights along with colourful duppattas. Instead of using fairy lights as is, you can weave flowers with it and then hang it up. Another inexpensive trick, is to put some colored paper cones or sheer cloth on lamps, to create mood lighting,” says Lekha Gupta, senior architect, L.A.B. (Language Architecture Body).
Experiment with Diwali lanterns
Lanterns are one of the easiest ways to brighten up the house. These are ideal hanging lights for living rooms and likely to capture the attention of your guests. They are available in plethora of designs and are perfect for this festival. “If you believe in eco-friendly celebrations, opt for paper lanterns, to light up balconies and windows and even indoors. To add some colour with these lights for Diwali, you can buy kites in bright colours or translucent papers and stick them on the windowpanes and then light up the window,” adds Gupta.
Quirky lighting options
These days, there are various options to illuminate the home, including neon sign art for walls with various messages, LED-lights for paintings, wall plaques, illuminated name plates and torans with lights. You can improve your home decor with these lighting ideas and illuminate every corner. These can be used in any home for dramatic effect. Multiple lighting options such as chandeliers, accent lights and lamps, combined with candles and diyas, can be sued, to create a festive ambience at home. The important thing about Diwali lights for home, is that the design of lamps and fixtures, should match the style of the room.
Vastu Shastra for Diwali lights
No corner of the house must be in darkness. By lighting diyas, you dispel negativity from the house and welcome positive, auspicious energy.
According to Vastu Shastra, the first diya must be lit in the pooja room. Then, after the Lakshmi puja, light diyas in the entire house. Also, the ‘akhand diya’ holds special significance on Diwali. One diya has to remain lit throughout the night to keep evil forces away from the home and welcome in Lakshmi and Ganesha. Keep the diya covered at all times with a glass cover.
Vastu Shastra links the tulsi plant with Goddess Lakshmi. Always keep one diya near it.
Here is a simple idea for Diwali door lights. Place two oil lamps on both sides of the main door. Opt for brass or earthen diyas to attract positive vibes into your home and dispel negativity.
As per Vastu, use blue-coloured earthen lamps in the north and green-coloured lamps in the east side of the house. South-facing houses should have more red lights. Earthen lamps painted with orange colour are recommended for the south-east zone.
Pink or gray colour lamps are ideal for the south-west. In the west, keep blue-coloured diyas, whereas blue or gray are apt for the north-west.
FAQs
To light Diwali diyas can one use oil?
Use cows ghee to light up diyas. One can also use mustard oil but avoid using sunflower oil.
How do I brighten up a corner for Diwali?
Place clusters of rice lights in any transparent jar bottle on tables and corner consoles. Place a vintage jalli lantern with a candle in the corner, for an ethereal combination of light and shadows.
Are LED lights eco-friendly?
LED lights are reusable and one can reuse them for the next Diwali too. They consume less energy as compared to other lights. Use LED string lights or LED bulbs in pendants and lanterns for Diwali.
Which lighting is best for Diwali?
Diyas, candles, lanterns and fairy lights are some of the best lighting options for Diwali.
What are the traditional Diwali lights?
Diyas are the traditional lighting options used in homes. There are many different designs and colours available in diyas these days. You can even paint them yourself for a personal touch.
How many diyas should be lit for Diwali?
As per Hindu customs and beliefs, Diwali calls for the lighting of a specific number of diyas, each with its own symbolism. Traditionally, 13 diyas are illuminated at different locations during the celebration.
How to hang Diwali lights without nails?
For a nail-free and stress-free approach to hanging Diwali lights, opt for damage-free adhesive hooks or clips. These versatile solutions come in various sizes and weight capacities, making them suitable for different lighting arrangements. You can use them to hang wreaths, string lights, or other decorations without the need for nails or screws, preserving your walls and surfaces.
Purnima Goswami Sharma is a freelance writer based in Mumbai, who has been contributing to various newspapers, magazines and portals for the last two decades. Besides being a research writer for various TV shows, she has been a visiting faculty at SNDT for Communication Skills. She hold a master’s degree in English Literature from Mumbai University and a diploma in Communications and Journalism. She writes on diverse subjects like real estate, interiors, education, lifestyle, health, entertainment and environment.
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