Importance of Lighting

Hands down, my favorite thing to source for clients is lighting! I think a lot of people underestimate the impact of lighting on a space. It really sets the mood of any room and there are so many ways to achieve this. Of course there are rules to lighting, which are more or less, guidelines. Generally speaking, it is of utmost importance to understand scale and warmth or brightness of the bulbs you are choosing for your space. But do not be intimidated, I’m going to share with you tips and tricks to make choosing lighting so much easier…..

Lumens vs. Kelvins Explained

Why should you care about these two things when choosing a bulb? Depending on the space, it makes all the difference in the ambience and it’s such an easy thing to achieve. First off, always be consistent with the bulbs you choose. Select bulbs that are all the same lumens and kelvins for your space. Not sure what these two things are? Let me explain. Lumens determine how bright or dim a light will be. The higher the lumens, the brighter the bulb will be. The lower the lumens, the dimmer a bulb will be. Kelvins determine the temperature of a bulb. The higher the kelvins, the cooler the bulb will be. The lower the kelvins, the warmer the bulb will be. If you’re unsure of what you want in your space, they make bulbs that will single-handedly achieve a spectrum of warmth to brightness so you can play around with which you like better. And if you are having trouble deciding on brightness, I always recommend getting dimmers for every light switch. Dimmers are very inexpensive and easy to install.

Layer your lighting

When choosing lighting, don’t just stop with a ceiling light. Layer your lighting to achieve the perfect balance and ambience. From floor to ceiling and everything in between, where are there opportunities to add different levels of lighting? Upper lighting can include any recessed lighting or down lighting. Mid level lighting can include chandeliers, pendant lights, sconces, picture lights, table top lamps, and undermount cabinet lighting. Lower lighting can include floor lamps and uplighting. If you have a large wall or a piece of art on your wall, highlight them with wall sconces or picture lights. Or hang pendant lights over large walls for a little pizazz. Arrange a floor lamp near seating in your furniture arrangement or add a table top lamp to a sofa table or console table.

Light Height, Sizing of Lights, and Placement of Lighting

You’ve found your perfect ceiling light fixture but you’re not sure how high to hang it. Here are some guidelines for hanging height. Typically speaking, a ceiling light can be hung about seven feet above your floor. However, variables such as ceiling height and furniture directly below the light fixture may alter this a bit. For example, a light fixture that hangs above a table or counter should be approximately 30-36” above the counter or table. Side note, if you’re planning to hang two or more pendant lights, the rule of thumb is to hang them about 24” or more apart from each other. If you have higher ceilings, you can hang lighting slightly lower for more drama. For vanity lights, they should be about 75-80” above your floor. In a TV room or sitting room above a coffee table, take into account the viewing clearance when sitting down on your furniture. Again, you can hang your light lower for more drama, but be sure that the bottom of the light doesn’t obstruct your view of the TV or from people sitting across from you.

If you’re not sure of what size light fixture to get for your space, there’s a super simple guideline for that. Just add the width and the length of your room to get the minimum diameter of light you should choose. That’s L + W=size of light! Again, this is the minimum diameter you should choose. Don’t be afraid to go bigger, it really elevates your room and makes a dramatic impact. For vanity lights, the light fixture should be 75-100% the length of the mirror, but never longer than the mirror. For linear light fixtures over a dining table or say a billiards table, the length of the light should be no more than ⅔ the length of the table. For round light fixtures, the diameter you can take the width of the table and multiply it between .5 and .75 to get an appropriate size. For example, if the table is 32” wide, multiply it by .5 and .75 to get your minimum and maximum diameter.

When determining placement of your lighting, you should consider furniture placement rather than the center of a room sans furniture. If you center your light for the room and your furniture layout is off center, this will throw the whole balance of the room off. So try and center the light over the furniture. If you are centering the light with the room, take into consideration any wall bump outs, built-ins, fireplace build outs, etc. as a reference of where to start your center placement. For beds, center your light fixture 18” above the bottom of the bed so that the light is over your feet when sleeping.