GE Lighting Home Makeover – Updating a bedroom #CBias

I have to be honest…I never really decorated our bedroom when we moved in several years ago.  Our move was so rushed and we were just happy to be settled.  It has needed a mini-makeover for quite awhile, and I recently updated a few things in the room to make it more relaxing and pretty, but I am especially excited about the new lighting!

Before I started this project, I assumed all energy efficient bulbs were the unattractive spiral kind. I’m sure you know the ones I am talking about. Although I knew the right thing to do to was to use these bulbs, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy them.  They are ugly.  Very ugly.  Little did I know that there are attractive energy efficient bulbs out there, and what a difference they make!  GE Energy Efficient soft white bulbs are a great alternative to the traditional incandescent bulbs, and by using these, you can save up to 28%, without sacrificing the look of the bulbs we’ve grown to know and love.

Lighting plays such a huge part in the ambiance of a room, and a bedroom of all places is supposed to be inviting. It is the one room you should always be able to go to for calm and quiet.  When bright lights are used in a bedroom, it isn’t relaxing at all.  I am guilty of this, but I finally changed it!

Here is my plain, undecorated bedroom before my lighting makeover:

Boring, right? I am actually really ashamed of it, but lately I have been putting all of my efforts into decorating our vacation home.

I made some throw pillows out of placemats (one of my favorite DIY projects):

I also made three canvas wall hangings from scrapbook paper (which my husband will be hanging up for me shortly). Then came the best part – the lighting! I bought a couple of up light table lamps at Walmart – one for each nightstand. This small change has made a huge difference in the overall feel of our bedroom. I can now turn on the lamps for a relaxing soft glow and keep the overhead lights off. Trust me – the lights in the overhead in the fan, were not calming in the least!

Look how gorgeous!

And the finished project:

While at Walmart, I also purchased some GE Energy Smart Ceiling fan bulbs.  These 15 watt bulbs replace regular 60 watt bulbs, and they are so attractive.

I also purchased some energy efficient lightbulbs for our kitchen. We have two fixtures, each with three lightbulbs. Here is what I purchased:

Whew – that was fun! It not only feels good to have a few areas of our home updated, but it feels amazing knowing that we are being energy efficient.

After we received a few enormous energy bills last summer, we have begun to take steps to reduce our bills. Some things that we have found to help reduce or energy usage are:

• Turning off lights when we leave a room
• Unplugging appliances not in use (you’d be surprised how many are plugged in and how much energy they are drawing!)
• Turn off computers when not in use (my kids had a bad habit of just leaving them on all day)
• Make sure windows are caulked properly and that there are not openings for air to get in.
• Check the weather stripping on all doors. Is it time to replace them?
• Purchase an inexpensive toaster oven and use it in place of the regular oven whenever possible (this has really helped us).

Just for fun, I calculated my estimated energy savings. Using the GE Energy Smart® CFL Savings Calculator, I discovered that if I switched all of my current lightbulbs to Energy Smart CFL bulbs, I would save $297.00 annually, and $1,632.80 over their lifetime. Do you know what your savings could be? I’d be interesting in hearing your results too.

Check out my GE Lighting Home Makeover Google+ story to see what I found while shopping!

Make sure you follow @GELighting on Twitter and like GE Lighting on Facebook to keep up with the latest news, products and promotions! Make sure you also check out the coupon on my sidebar for $2.00 on GE Energy Smart GFL’s and Energy Efficient Soft White Bulbs! For even more info, and to see what others are saying, follow #GELighting on Twitter.

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE. #CBias #SocialFabric”. All opinions and stories are my own.