Lighten Up

The lighting in our homes is often taken for granted and vastly underutilized. While thousands of unique options are on the market, each with its own uses and stylistic flair, many of us only put thought into lighting when we rush to the store to replace a bulb that has gone out. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with primarily favoring functionality when it comes to interior lighting, you could be getting so much more use out of your fixtures and take the spaces in your home to the next level!

Where to Start

Planning is a crucial step in designing effective and impactful lighting in each room of your home. Some of the most important factors you should take into consideration are what the space is used for and how the addition of different types of lighting will impact the use of the space. Is the space somewhere you do a lot of work that requires focus, such as a kitchen? Are the lights usually switched on in the room? Does one room tend to be hotter than another at certain times of the day? Answering these types of questions will go a long way towards helping you achieve your lighting goals.

Types of Lighting

There are four main types of lighting in the average home, and each serves a different purpose. Knowing the differences between them can give you a better understanding of your desired outcome for lighting a space and help you in your search.

– Ambient: The most common of the three, ambient lighting is typically the primary source of light in a space. This type of lighting can be achieved with pendant style fixtures, canned lighting, chandeliers and more.

– Task: Task lighting is exactly what it sounds like—lighting that helps you perform a task. This is typically achieved by installing a stronger, more focused light source that creates better visibility in a smaller area inside a room. This is often seen in the form of kitchen lights, desk lamps, and bedside lamps.

– Accent: Accent lighting adds focus to a specific portion of a room while not being as direct or bright as task lighting. Common forms of accent lighting include picture lighting, LED strips, and under cabinet lighting.

– Natural: One of the best sources of light in your home is none other than the sun! If you have access to natural light in your spaces, it’s best to accentuate if possible rather than covering up the natural beauty that it can add to the interior of your house. Sun exposure helps trigger your natural circadian rhythm and can promote healthier living. Plus, utilizing natural light can save you money on electric bills if you’re able to keep the lights off more often.

Color Temperatures

One of the main variables when picking out lightbulbs for your fixtures is the “color temperature,” which is measured in Kelvin (K). If you’ve ever wondered what the differences between the three main lightbulb color temperatures are, here’s a guide!

– Warm Light: Typically coming in at 2700K-3000K, warm light bulbs can provide relaxing lighting to a space and go great in hallways, bedrooms, and living rooms.

– Cool White: Measured between 3000K-5000K, cool white bulbs promote focus, which means they’re great for kitchens and workspaces like offices.

– Daylight: These bulbs usually measure between 5000K-6500K. They work to mimic natural light in boosting moods and promoting alertness, making these bulbs practical for most spaces in your home.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using multiple temperatures in a single space, and this practice can even add a lot of depth to a room! One example of this is in a living room that is connected to a kitchen; using warm bulbs in the living room area and cool bulbs in the kitchen area creates a natural perimeter for each space. Also, warm lamps can add a mood to a localized portion of a room that has bright, cool overhead lighting, and this sort of customization means that you never have to compromise when it comes to lighting design.

Lumens and Watts

When shopping for the right bulbs for your interior spaces, it may be helpful to pay attention to the measure of lumens in addition to watts, which have been the popular focus in the past. Lumens are a measure of how much light is being produced by a bulb, unlike watts, which are a measure of how much energy a bulb uses. Lumens give you a better idea of what lighting goals you can accomplish with each bulb, as more watts doesn’t necessarily mean more lumens and vice versa. To understand what amount of lumens you should be looking for to fulfill your needs, you should measure or at least have a rough idea of the square footage of the room you are looking to illuminate. Then, using an online calculator or consulting a professional, you can get a close estimate of the amount of lumens you need to light a space based on the area and usage of the room. It’s also always a good idea to consider energy consumption, especially if you are trying to stay eco-conscious or keep your electric bill down, and it’s easier than ever to see the estimated energy costs on the packaging of most brands of light bulbs!

Switches

Another area of customization you have available to you is the choice of light switches. The tried-and-true on and off switch is fine for most applications, but you could find great use out of other options on the market, such as dimmers and even remote-controlled switches! Dimming switches come in multiple varieties and allow for the user to customize how bright a light shines in a space ranging from turned off to full brightness. Dimmers allow for quick lighting customization and allow you to change the mood of a room with an easy adjustment. Remote lighting switches traditionally allowed for the use of an included remote control unit to toggle lighting on and off or dim the lights to a desired specification. Nowadays, many remote control switches allow you to use an application to customize your lighting straight from your phone!

Interior lighting has endless possibilities, many of which come down to personal choice. In the end, what’s most important is how a space makes you feel. So, it might take some experimenting to figure out what works best for your own unique needs when it comes to lighting a space. With a bit of patience and the tips provided, you can be well on your way to designing impactful interior lighting that complements your lifestyle in no time!