how to hide fluorescent lights

How To Hide Fluorescent Lights? (7 Creative Ways)

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While there is nothing wrong with letting your fluorescent lights be seen, learning some tips on how to hide fluorescent lights makes the room looks compelling.

I haven’t really thought of covering nor hiding the fluorescent lights in my room until I attended a party last fall. The details of how the decorations stunningly hide the average fluorescent lights give me some ideas.

So, I took the time to research fun and creative ways on how to hide fluorescent lights and make your room expensive-looking.

Who says you need a chandelier, really?

If you want to make a subtle change to a room’s interior but don’t want to spend a huge amount of cash for it, then you will surely be interested in this topic.

how to hide fluorescent lights
There are creative ways to cover your fluorescent lights while upgrading your room interior at the same time

How To Hide Fluorescent Lights (7 Creative Ways And Design Tips)

Here are 7 ways to cover those tube lights:

1. Colored Fabrics

The most convenient way to hide those fluorescent lights is to use a high sheen fabric. If you think the white and yellow lights are too boring, you can spice it up a bit by using colored fabrics.

You can choose the texture, pattern, and color to fit your personal style. If you want to open up the room and make it look spacious, you can choose bright and light colors such as light and pastel shades. 

If you would rather want to set a cozy and warm ambiance, go for bolder colors like golden yellow, purple, and even blue color.

Sheer fabrics are the best choice if you don’t want to dim the lighting too much. Just hang them loosely over the fluorescent lights to create a draping effect.

2. Rice Paper Covers

The rice paper covers are another alternative for those who seek a temporary way on how to hide fluorescent lights.

Since paper isn’t really that durable, this is the perfect choice for seasonal designs. For instance, you can set up a cover with flowery patterns in spring and quickly change it to red and orange maple leaves in fall, down to winter wonderland print in winter.

Rice paper covers don’t cost an arm and a leg, so the idea of changing the cover per season will not cost that much. These are easily available too. You can easily get rice paper covers from a local art supply store or even online on sites like Amazon and eBay.

3. Translucent Light Boxes

Periodic changes in the cover may be too much for some, so the best option is to find a way to hide the fluorescent lights using durable materials.

The translucent light box is an excellent idea to do this. The box-like cover is robust and can cover a few feet surrounding the light. The trick here is to choose a box with really good edges and material.

For that, it is a good idea to have it customized or you can shortlist shops that offer these boxes in sleek designs. The box’s translucent material filters the light in different directions, giving the room subtle lighting.

4. Reflectors

Reflectors work like a suspended cover. This is attached to the ceiling, but instead of filtering the fluorescent bulb’s light, it reflects it back to the ceiling. This is a really good way of creating soft lights.

For individuals who love to dim their lights at night. This is a good idea to have the center light covered with a reflector. You can turn this lone light at night and only turn on the other fluorescent lights when you need brighter lighting.

5. Soffits

Soffits are another durable way on how to camouflage fluorescent lights. This covering gives your ceiling a much neater and sleeker appearance as the entire light is fully hidden.

If you want to combine aesthetics and functionality when deciding which fluorescent cover is best, soffits are a very good investment. They require professional installations though, but the outcome is elegant and flawless light cover fixtures.

6. Diffuser

Maybe you don’t want to gravely dim the lighting in your room? Rather you want it to spread out just enough to soften the lighting evenly in all directions.

For that, what you need is a diffuser. Hanging diffusers, in particular, are a popular choice to hide ugly fluorescent lights. They get rid of harsh lights and shadows, replacing them with soft and gentle lighting.

7. Paper Cranes

This is by far the cheapest way albeit the most resourceful and creative way of covering fluorescent lights. I saw paper cranes hanging on an art exhibit once, and it really helps give a unique style in the area.

While this may be the cheapest, making the paper cranes can take a long time as you need a lot of these to fully cover the fluorescent tube. Still, if you’ve got the time to spare, why not try it out and impress any guests who’ll visit your humble abode?

With the advancement of technology, there sure are many ways on how to hide fluorescent lights in your house. If you know other design tips to do so, don’t hesitate to share them in the comment section!

Watch video: How to replace fluorescent light bulbs (step-by-step)

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