Create the Perfect Interior Lighting Design for Your Home

In interior design, lighting often takes a backseat to elements like furniture, wall colors, and layout. However, effective lighting is a cornerstone of a well-designed home. Good lighting enhances the aesthetic appeal of your living space to make it cozy and inviting. Strategically incorporating multiple types of lighting gives you more flexibility in how you use your space by providing sufficient light for a variety of tasks. Additionally, a well-lit home exterior can deter potential break-ins by eliminating dark corners and shadows where intruders could lurk. In this article, we will discuss all aspects of creating the perfect residential lighting design for your home.

Before choosing the types of light and the placement of your interior lights, there are several essential elements you should consider that will help guide your decision-making process.

• Size of the room: Consider the size of the room you wish to light.  A larger room may need a combination of overhead lights, wall lights, and floor lamps to ensure even light distribution. However, a smaller room might be sufficiently lit with a single central light source.
• Purpose of the room: A room’s purpose will determine the characteristics and placement of your lighting. A kitchen, for instance, demands bright task lighting angled directly at kitchen counters. On the other hand, a bedroom might only need dim, warm lights.
• How light interacts with the room: Light can reflect on various textures and finishes. Glossy surfaces typically reflect light and cause a glare, while matte surfaces absorb light. Be sure to keep this in mind and angle your lights to avoid any problems. Or, you can add diffusers such as lampshades and frosted lenses.
• Colors and design of the room: Dark walls absorb light, while lighter walls will reflect bright light. For rooms with darker paint colors, consider using brighter light or more light sources to account for the absorption of light. In a room with light paint, consider angling your overhead lights away from the walls to help reduce glare.
• Natural light: Take note of what areas of your room are illuminated by natural light during the day. You will want to be sure to add proper lighting around these areas to make up for the absence of natural light at night. Additionally, there are steps you can take to maximize the natural light you do have to save energy during the day. Mirrors and reflective surfaces can be strategically placed to bounce light into darker corners. Lighter paint colors can also aid in reflecting light. Depending on where the sun rises and sets in relation to your windows, certain parts of your house may receive an abundance of light. Be sure to install curtains or shades to prevent bright glares in these areas.
• Existing electrical setup: Before adding or altering light fixtures, consider the current electrical infrastructure. This includes the location of outlets, wiring capabilities, and switch placements. It's crucial to determine whether you can add more lights without overloading the circuit and where new fixtures or switches might be feasible.

The correlated color temperature, or CCT, determines the hue and shade of white a light displays. This is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). Light at 2000K-2500K is considered ultra-warm and has a hue similar to candlelight. Lights with a CCT of 2700K-3500K are considered warm white and appear yellowish. Natural white refers to light with a CCT around 4000K-4500K and appears as pure white light. Finally, any light at 5000K and above is considered to be a cool white. These lights give off a blueish-white appearance. 

Different retailers might have varying names for these temperatures, so it is important to refer to the color temperature in Kelvins. For instance, a 2700K bulb will emit the same color temperature across stores regardless of its descriptive name.

When selecting an LED bulb for your room, think about the desired ambiance and the room's purpose. Warm white bulbs with lower CCTs give a warmer hue, making spaces appear cozier but possibly dimmer. Natural and cool white bulbs are ideal for task-oriented spaces like kitchens or offices because of their crisper light which makes you more alert. Below is a list of common household rooms and their recommended CCT.

• Warm White: Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Nurseries
• Natural White: Bathrooms, Closets, Utility/Storage Rooms, Offices
• Cool White: Kitchens, Garages, Outdoor Security Lighting

A successful interior lighting design carefully combines the four main types of lighting. Ambient lighting is the primary source of illumination for a space. Common light fixtures used to create this general lighting coverage include ceiling lights and wall-mounted fittings. Task lighting provides focused light for specific jobs such as reading, cooking, or writing. Desk lamps, under-cabinet lights, or shop and garage lights are good examples of task lighting fixtures. Accent lighting serves to highlight particular features in a room and to create depth and dimension. There are a variety of lights that can be used to provide accent lighting including strip lights and track lights. Lastly, decorative lighting is any lighting that serves as a statement piece. Common decorative lights include patio string lights, chandeliers, and wall sconces.

Strategically layering light enhances the balance and functionality of residential spaces. In any room, integrating various light sources at the top, middle, and bottom of the room creates depth in your lighting design. Flush mount ceiling lights or recessed downlights provide lighting for the entire room and set the general tone. Mid-level fixtures, such as wall sconces or table lamps, offer focused lighting for specific tasks and soften shadows cast by the overhead fixtures. Bottom-layer lighting from plug-in motion sensor lights or toe-kick lights emits a soft glow to light up the floor for increased accessibility. Together, these layers of light provide balance. 

You can also layer the four different types of lighting to give your room enough light for various tasks. For example, in the kitchen, layer ambient overhead lighting and under-cabinet task lighting to give sufficient background lighting for casual kitchen use but also enough focused lighting for cooking and preparing food. A good lighting design includes at least two of the main types of lighting.

Smart lighting refers to advanced lighting technology that allows the user to control light fixtures remotely via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, apps, or other smart devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. These lighting systems offer increased customization and flexibility for changes in brightness, color temperature, scheduling, and more. Popular smart light products include smart LED bulbs, strip lights, and downlights, which can all be integrated into home automation systems. 

Integrating smart lights into a home automation system offers the convenience of scheduling lights around daily activities which eliminates the need for manual control. This can help save energy by automatically turning lights on and off when they are not needed. Smart lights also assist with home security by adjusting lights while homeowners are away based on preprogrammed or real-time commands. These lights can also interact with other smart devices, creating an interconnected home environment. Learn more about smart lighting here.

The size and purpose of your room will determine the amount of light it should receive. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has set recommendations for how much light a room needs in footcandles. A footcandle (fc) is a unit of illuminance, or light intensity, representing the amount of light cast on a 1ft² surface by 1 candela source that is 1 foot away. Understanding footcandles is crucial as it helps in determining the appropriate lighting levels for different tasks and areas in a home. Below is a list of recommended footcandles for various residential rooms.

Using these recommendations and the equation below, you can figure out how many total lumens your room should receive. This will help you find lights that will emit the proper brightness. 

Room square footage* x Suggested footcandles for that type of room = Lumens needed

 *Calculate a room’s square footage by multiplying its length by its width