Okay, here’s my blog post about setting up my Nanoleaf Canvas, written in a casual, personal style:
So, I finally caved and got myself a set of Nanoleaf Canvas squares. I’d seen them all over Instagram, and, well, I’m a sucker for cool lighting. I started by just staring at the box for a good ten minutes. Seriously, the packaging is pretty slick.
Then I ripped it open! Inside, you’ve got the squares themselves, the little linker things, the power supply, and a bunch of sticky tape. Oh, and a quick start guide that I mostly ignored (whoops!).
Planning the Design
This is where I spent the most time, to be honest. I knew I didn’t want just a boring square or rectangle. I wanted something…dynamic. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, and started sketching out some ideas. I doodled a bunch of random shapes, some looked like mountains, others like abstract art…some just looked like a mess.
After about an hour of messing around, I narrowed it down to a few designs. I then used Nanoleaf’s layout assistant in their app, playing around until I got something I liked. I find the app experience not so good and a little hard to start.
Putting it on the Wall!
This part was a little nerve-wracking. I cleaned the wall with some rubbing alcohol, just to make sure the sticky tape would hold. Then, I started with the control square (the one with the buttons) and stuck it to the wall. I pressed down really hard, hoping it wouldn’t fall off later.
From there, I followed my chosen design, connecting each square with those little linker chips. It’s kind of like building with LEGOs, but flatter and more expensive. You have to make sure the linkers are fully inserted, or the next square won’t light up. I learned that the hard way, had to pop a couple off and re-seat the linkers.
The whole process took me maybe another hour, including a few moments where I stood back and wondered if I’d made a terrible mistake with the design. But once the last square was up, I plugged it in…and boom! Instant mood lighting.
Playing with Colors and Scenes
The Nanoleaf app has a ton of pre-set color scenes, which is great for lazy people like me. I fiddled around with those for a while, finding some that I liked. I also tried creating my own, but it’s surprisingly difficult to make something that looks good. I’ll need to practice that more.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! It definitely adds a cool vibe to the room. It wasn’t super easy to install, but it wasn’t rocket science either. If you’re thinking about getting some, I’d say go for it! Just be prepared to spend some time planning your design, and double-check those linker connections!