It’s Not the Wattage, It’s the Whitage

Let’s talk lightbulbs. We use a lot of them here at the inn, especially those little specialty ones for the chandeliers. Those fancy ones that come in individual little boxes and cost a fortune. Yeah, those. I have 14 chandeliers and each one has at least 10 bulbs. We spend a LOT of money on lightbulbs.

In addition to the chandeliers, we also have quite a few lamps. I love lamplight. It has a comfy glow about it that warms a room. I’d rather turn on 6 lamps than one glaring overhead light, especially if it’s a fluorescent. I hate the fluorescents. So cold and white-blue. Not at all like the relaxing amber glow of the lamps.

But in today’s ever-changing world, with all of its progressive ideas and “save the planet” concepts I’m finding it harder and harder to enjoy the soft relaxing lampglow of yesteryear. Why? LED bulbs. I suppose the whole idea behind them is wonderful, but they give off such a harsh unfriendly light. That super bright bluish white light is anything but relaxing. In fact, I replaced a bulb in one of the lamps on a beside table in one of my guest rooms and the guest complained about how bright the light was and made it hard for her to read in bed.

I didn’t disagree. I thought the light was annoying as well when I replaced an older model 40 watt incandescent with a 40 watt LED. They are NOT the same. One is nice. The other is obnoxious. But, I’m having a really hard time finding the old incandescent bulbs. I’ll go out of my way and pay a little more for them, but I can’t even really find them any more. All the big box stores only carry the LED’s. I tried a lower wattage LED, which was a tad better, but still that awful bluish-white light. Give me back my amber glow.

Then I have another problem. The antique lamps that serve dual purposes: lamp and nightlight. I’m sure you’ve seen those lamps with 3 switches. The first turns on the nightlight base, the second switch turns on the top lamp section, and the third switch turns them both on. Well, I don’t have any LED nightlight bulbs, which is totally fine because I LOVE the soft glow of the nightlights when I leave them on overnight. The problem lies with the top portion of the lamp, which I’ve had to replace with an LED bulb, because that’s all I could find. The look is horrible. Here’s a picture.

Photo by P. Rickrode (May 2022)

So, I’m in need of LED nightlight bulbs or incandescent light bulbs for at least 3 of my lamps if I want the color of the light given off in each section to match (which I do, because I’m a freak that way). And, I’d like to be able to buy them in bulk because I use so many of them. The other option is to get rid of the antique lamps, but there’s no way that’s going to happen. One of them was my mother’s, who in turn got it from her mother. So . . . sorry, that lamp is here to stay. I only wish I had a daughter to pass it along to when I croak.

Anyway, that’s the continuing problems on an innkeeper who wants her house to look nice and inviting. So many problems to take care of. What do you guys think of the new-fangled LED lightbulbs? Do you like the glaring white light they throw? Where do you get your non-LED bulbs? Suggestions are welcome.

I’ve got some exciting things planned for the year that only my newsletter followers will know about. I promise you’ll only get 6 newsletters for the entire year, so I won’t clutter up your inbox. Here’s the link if you want to sign up and be the first to know things: http://bit.ly/JansenSchmidtNewsletter

Word of the Day: Kalimba

Fun fact about me: I’m still waiting to hear from the flea market lady. It’s only been a week, so hopefully next week I’ll have news about that adventure.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, May 2022. Images by pexels, Google, P. Rickrode, and giphy.com