Since every room in your home has a unique purpose, it’s important that your lighting choices reflect that. While some areas — like the laundry room or kitchen — need lighting that is task-oriented, others — such as the living room — can benefit from more lighting that is indirect. In other words, the light intensity, location of lighting, and the type of fixtures should differ from one space to another. In this post, we will share practical tips to help you ensure each room in your home has optimal lighting.
Lighting for Dining Room
The dining space is one area where socializing and conversations happens. This means a darkish, shadowy ambience for this space won’t do. Your dining space must have sufficient overall lighting, so you may want to use ceiling fixtures, such as recessed can and flush-mount lights.
If you want dining space lighting to make a statement, look no further than a chandelier. If overhead space is limited, go for a mini chandelier instead of full-sized one. Regardless of size, chandeliers are not only decorative but also provide a lot of general light.
A few things to keep in mind when hanging a dining room chandelier are:
- The lower end of the chandelier should roughly hang about 35 inches above a table (assuming you have an 8-foot ceiling)
- For higher ceilings, increase the height of the chandelier 3 inches for every additional foot of ceiling height
- Chandelier light bulbs should provide roughly 30 to 40 lumens per sq ft
If a chandelier is not your thing, you can hang pendant lights instead. Use them in collaboration with the lighting in the rest of the dining room to create the best effect.
Kitchen Lighting Fixtures
Typically, kitchens require a combination of different types of lighting for proper illumination. Because ceiling fixtures distribute light evenly around a space, consider installing one for overall (or ambient) lighting. For task lighting, hang pendant lights directly over work spots, like the kitchen island. You should also consider under-cabinet lights, which are perfect for food preparation areas.
Keep in mind kitchen task areas need more illumination than general areas. Aim for 70 to 80 lumen per sq ft for these areas, while 30 to 40 lumens per sq ft is likely to prove sufficient for the general areas.
Living Room Lighting Fixtures
A living room serves more than one purpose. Therefore, you need lighting which can seamlessly adapt for homey movie nights, casual entertaining, solo reading, and other different activities. For a living room, flexible track lighting can be just about perfect since it can offer accent, task, or ambient lighting. By moving, rotating, swiveling, and aiming individual lights, you can change the living room lighting scheme quickly and swiftly.
If like most living rooms, yours also has a TV, track lights and dimmable sconces can provide adequate illumination for easy and safe movement without disrupting your viewing experience. For times when your TV is turned off, pendant lights can be used to provide sufficient ambient lighting. For your living room, aim for roughly 10 to 20 lumens per sq ft.
Bathroom Lighting Fixtures
Installing the wrong type of lighting in your bathroom could be unflattering. Make sure lights do not point down at the mirror; otherwise you will have to live with unwanted shadows. You should install fixtures, like sconces or pendants, on either side of the mirror. This will give you a balanced lighting. Adjustable sconces, in contrast, can be ideal for shared bathrooms. They can easily and effortlessly adapt to different lighting needs. The bathroom is once space in your home that should be brightly lit, so aim for 70 to 80 lumens per sq ft.
Hallways Lighting Fixtures
For hallways, you can opt for a flush-mount fixture, which provides indirect lighting. Another options is hanging sconces along your wall. Since hallways do not usually require especially bright light, about 5 to 10 lumens per sq ft should suffice.