Choosing The Correct Lighting
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Which light should you use where in your home?
Never buy the wrong lamp again: these tips ensure a pleasant atmosphere and sufficient lighting.
There's a huge selection on the lighting shelf, but once you get home, it often turns out to be the wrong bulb: too dim, too bright, or the wrong color. How do you choose the right lamp, and what kind of lighting do you need for what?
When you start decorating your home, or want to give a room a different look, lamps are crucial. They determine the atmosphere and functionality of a room, and can even make it appear larger. That's why it's important not to just buy any lamps; you need to think carefully about them.
A lighting plan in 3 steps:
You should start by creating a lighting plan. She uses three types of lighting for this.
1. Basic lighting: "This is the light that, with just a few lamps, already brightens the room well and immediately creates a cozy atmosphere. Mark out where you want spotlights, a lamp above the dining table, and other light sources to ensure the room is well-lit."
2. Mood lighting: "You can do this by placing softer light in dark corners. By placing smaller or less bright lamps there, your room appears more spacious." Furthermore, a mix of different lighting makes the space much more atmospheric, because what would a living room be without that cozy lamp on the cabinet?
3. Practical lighting. "Think carefully about where you need more light in a room. Where do you like to read the newspaper? If that's on the couch, you might want an extra lamp there. When you work at the kitchen table, extra lighting is also useful there."
Light intensity: what are Kelvin and lumen?
Once you've put together your plan, also consider how bright and warm you want the bulbs. To do this, you need to pay attention to lumen and Kelvin. These figures are listed on the packaging.
Warmer light goes well with warmer tones in the living room. Do you have a room with fresh tones like blue and green? Then choose a whiter light.
Kelvin: the color of light
But how do you know which bulb produces which color? "The higher the Kelvin (K), the cooler the light. For basic lighting, it's recommended to choose warm light, around 2200-2700K..
"For mood lighting in corners, you can choose, for example, 2000K, which gives a warmer, more yellowish tint. If you need a reading lamp, a 3000-4000K bulb is a good choice. This provides a bright white light, so you can see everything clearly.
If you want to create candlelight, look for a 1000K bulb. Want almost daylight in the middle of your office? Consider 5000-6500K, although this is more often used for showrooms.
- The higher the Kelvin, the 'colder' the light, the lower, the warmer.
Lumen: the amount of light
You also need to consider the number of lumen, a measure of the amount of light a lamp provides. This is similar to wattage, which indicates how much energy a lamp uses. The higher the number of lumens, the higher the wattage and the brighter the light.
For example: for a ceiling light in the living room, a bulb between 400 and 800 lumens is a good choice. It won't fully illuminate the entire living room, but it provides good basic lighting. For ambient lighting in corners, consider a bulb with 200 lumens, which corresponds to about 2 to 3 watts for LED lighting.
The number of lumen is indicated on the bulb's packaging.
If you know all this and are creating a lighting plan, don't forget the function of the room. "People sometimes choose one bright light source in the bathroom, but it's actually nice to have two: cooler and brighter light in the morning to wake up, and warmer and softer light in the evening before bed. In the kitchen, you probably want brighter work light for better visibility. So think carefully about your lighting needs beforehand."
If possible, choose dimmable light bulbs. You can then adjust this to the time of day and how you like it. Then you can already cross that out in your lighting plan and it makes it a lot easier.
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