I’ve switched back and forth on this over the years. Sometimes preferring a moodier experience in low light and other times feeling more like a brighter environment is better.
I’m thinking darker helps me focus and get into a zone better, whereas brighter is a more inviting experience.
Thing is, I’m about to do a new paincave starting from the ground up but I’ve not got much space to work with, just 3mx2.6m and it needs to fit two trainers and two TVs (Apple TV & Zwift on one, and for myself I’m using race footage on the other while I’m on TrainerRoad).
Lighting is easily changed with Hue lights - bright, moody, full on rave if you want, but it’s the overall design I’m wondering about.
Go for something moody, brick patterned walls, industrial stands, with aggressive text above the TVs, or go for something airy, light walls and greenery like tall potted plants, and a more feminine motivational type text ala Soul Cycle or so. Maybe even a large mural of the Alps and some mirrors to increase the sense of space. Unhelpfully the missus likes both styles.
Scratched my head over this for a month now and time is nearly up. I’ll need to pack up our current cave and get the next one ready without interrupting our training plans, so need to settle on a design and go for it now.
Anyone been through this themselves, or have strong preferences either way. Happy to field strong opinions!