Did you get into the Monday all right? Mondays are usually the hardest to get up in the morning for me, especially when it’s still dark outside. I guess I’m not the only one with this problem though right? However, just recently getting up in the morning got a thousand times lighter. Why is this you’re wondering? Well, last week I got the WiZ connected lighting and it’s one of those items that I now don’t understand how I was living without it for all those years.

I was always a little reluctant to try out Smart lighting. I’m not the biggest tech fan, and setting up my printer was more than enough to get through this month. But, I have always been curious, and I have to tell you, the installation was super straightforward. The Wiz lamps* work with the WiZ app, where you create rooms, add lamps and connect them with your Wifi network (Bluetooth is also possible). So, just 15 minutes after I took the lamps out of the box, I was playing with all the different light modes, because the possibilities are endless.

I set up WiZ lights in both my bedroom and my office, the two rooms where I spend most of my time and where I can get the most benefits from them. In my bedroom, I placed a full color spectrum LED bulb* in my rice-paper-shade and the Wiz table lamp* on the bedside table. You can set a multitude of scenes and rhythms for your lamps, but in the bedroom, I mostly use the wake-up and bedtime routines.

Wiz wake up mode

The wake-up routine turns the light on slowly over a period of 30 minutes, just like the sun would and the experience of waking up compared to the alarm clock is infinitely better. At the beginning of the 30 minutes, the light is more magenta, while towards the end, it’s brighter and more yellow like at sunrise. I usually wake up about 20 minutes in and let my eyes get used to the light. By the time the 30 minutes end, I’m ready to wake up. So much better than waking up with a dreadful alarm.

Wiz bedtime routine

While the Wiz connected smart lights help me the most when waking up in the morning, I use them to go to bed at night as well. Once I’m in bed, I turn on the bedtime routine, which allows me to read my book, yet the light gets more dim after a while, which makes me ready to put away my book and fall asleep.

Circadian Rhythm

In my office, I’m using the same combination of the full color spectrum smart bulbs and the Squire table lamp and I have them set to the Circadian Rhythm, which is aimed at replicating the natural changes of the sunlight throughout the day.

The light will gradually brighten in the morning, using cool white light, then it becomes more neutral and brighter during the day and dim and warmer in the evening (you can define when your day starts and ends in the WiZ app). As I have been working at my desk from dusk till down many days in the last weeks, it really helps to keep a sense of time. I usually have a feeling that it’s evening at 16h when the sun goes down here in Munich, and really get a dip in productivity, but the lights prevent this. And when I’m sitting at my desk when it’s dark out in the morning it gives the feeling the sun is already out. Such a game-changer.

Connectivity

Shortly said, I’m super happy with the WiZ connected lighting in both my bedroom and home office and can’t wait to get more lights in the other rooms of my apartment as well. I always tend to leave the light on in the hallway when I leave the house, so next, I will install the Wiz Motion sensor* by the door, so that the light can be on only when motion is detected. It will save energy and I don’t have to worry about switching off the lights when I’m leaving. It’s also possible to control the lights with voice control and I plan to try out using Google assistant with it.

This post was written in paid collaboration with WiZ connected lighting, but all opinions are my own of course. If you would like to know more about the products or have a look at more ideas on how to integrate them, have a look on their website. And don’t worry, you don’t have to be tech-savvy to be able to set up some pretty amazing scenes with the WiZ lighting. If I could do it, anyone can.

Christmas is getting closer and since I will be hosting one Christmas lunch here at my apartment, I decided to try out the holiday table decor and check out how I will be arranging everything. I’m really not a fan of an elaborate Christmas dinner table, yet I do love to add some Christmas touches to the table and its surroundings.

My go-to shop for Christmas decorations is Arket, they have the most subtle and beautiful decor for the modern home and holiday season and I decided to set the Christmas table with a selection of their amazing products kindly gifted to me to try out.

A subtle Christmas table setting

For my Christmas table, I didn’t want to overload things too much, so I worked with beautiful cabbage plates from Bordallo Pinheiro (€17 for the big plate*, €13 for the small plate*) which come in both a white and a green version. When it comes to holiday table decorating I love tints of green, for Christmas, so these plates are perfect. I love the combination of the white and green in the dinner plates and dessert plates, I think it adds a playful touch to the holiday table that puts the entire dining room in a festive mood.

I paired up the plates with the Ripple glasses from Ferm Living, and a white linen tablecloth from H&M home (€49,99 in a variety of colors*) which I have since forever, such great value for the price. To add some more texture to the textiles, I also added a table runner in grey, this one is from Himla. The bistro cutlery (€39 for a set of 4*) from Sabre Paris makes this table setting a bit more informal, which I like very much.

Christmas table decorations

To decorate the table, I spread out some paper decorations on a branch and in a bowl on the table, such an easy way to add an instant Christmas touch to your dining room table. The ones you see in the pictures are from Arket, but they are from previous years.

Every holiday season they bring out new color variations and you can usually buy 4 for 3* during the last months of the year. Their color palettes, though different every season, are always timeless, so I end up reusing them every year both for the Christmas table and to add some elegant Christmas touches throughout my interior.

The stars of the dining table to me are these organic candle holders made out of solid recycled brass with a silver coat on top (€59 per piece*). I love the way the organic silver shapes stand out against the other materials on the table and add a festive and glamorous touch.

A holiday table and its surroundings

Apart from the Christmas table setting, my dining room got a Christmas upgrade as well. I have used three paper stars to make the holiday table a bit more magical. The Snöblomma star from Watt & Veke (€ 65 a piece*) is fitted with a light bulb that is programmed to go on when it starts to get dark.

I have used a Wiz smart light for this, have a look at this blogpost if you want to know more about these programmable light bulbs. I have hung this one up in the window so it’s festive from inside and for the neighbors as well.

On the wall above the Christmas table, you can see the Leah paper star from Watt & Veke (€69 a piece*) which is a bit more graphic so I have used it without a lamp. On the wall above the cupboard, I have used an Afroart paper star combined with the Baies candle with a carousel* on top which turns around with the heat of the candle and spreads the most magical scent in the dining room.

The Drip candle Holders (€ 59 for the small version*, €99 for the medium version*) designed by Pascal Smelik for Pols Potten and the table lamp on my sideboard cast a lovely cozy light on the Christmas table setting, which what I think it’s all about when decorating for Christmas. I can’t wait to have people over and show them my subtle yet cozy and inviting Christmas table with a modern touch.

Other Christmas table settings to get inspired by

Looking for more Christmas table-setting ideas? I myself am a fan of a lighter color palette when it comes to Christmas table settings, but I find this darker mood so inspiring as well. Note that they used an oversized version of the Drip candle holders here, which is so impressive in this table setting.

Have a look here for a simple and minimal table setting with brass candlesticks and ornaments and branches as napkin rings. Lastly, while I wouldn’t have Christmas eve dinner exactly this messy, this Christmas tablescape has an impressive branch with gold ornaments that really attract the eye.