Types of Lighting Mistakes To Avoid When Lighting Your Home

Installing lighting in your home can seem daunting—whether choosing the correct fixtures, types of bulbs, or where to place them, there’s so much to consider. Incorrectly placing the lighting in your home can cause eye strain, poor visibility, or poor design. In this article, we outline 6 common mistakes people make with their home lighting and their solutions. 

6 Mistakes People Make When Lighting Their Home

1. Selecting the Incorrect Color Temperature or Lumen Output.  

2. Disregarding the Importance of Layered Lighting. 

3. Ignoring Fixture Placement.

4. Purchasing Fixtures That Don’t Match the Theme of the Space. 

5. Installing Traditional Lighting Instead of LEDs. 

6. Overlooking Dimming or Smart Light Options.

Selecting the Incorrect Color Temperature or Lumen Output. 

The CCT can affect the total mood of a room or space. A warmer CCT makes the space feel more comfortable and relaxing, while a cooler CCT promotes focus and alertness. Additionally, the room's paint color and undertone are important to take into consideration when selecting the CCT of your ambient light. If a room primarily has warm tones, installing fixtures with cooler CCTs can mute the color of the decor or walls. The same is true for lumens. The greater the lumens, the brighter the space, so use caution with the amount of lumens in a room where you want a relaxing or comfortable mood. 

Instead, warm CCTs should be matched to rooms with warm tones and cooler CCTs with cool tones. Opt for bulbs with many lumens for areas needing focusability and productivity. Selectable CCT fixtures are available, where the CCT can be adjusted to best fit the space. 

Disregarding the Importance of Layered Lighting. 

Opting just to install one overhead light in a room is another common home lighting mistake. Only overhead lighting can cause reduced visibility, glare, and a poor aesthetic with little dimension. 

Adding layering by implementing different accent, ambient, task, or decorative lighting is a way to ensure dimension and sufficient lighting in all areas. 

• Task: Lighting for specific activities or tasks, such as under-cabinets in kitchens. 

• Accent: Highlights specific features or areas, such as artwork or stairs.

• Ambient: The general overhead lighting in a space.

• Decorative: Placed as decoration, such as a chandelier, pendant lights, or string lights. 

There are different types of layering you can do in your home. 

• Horizontal Layering: Having evenly spread out lighting across the ceilings and walls

• Vertical Layering: Installing your lights at different heights to form dimension 

• Depth Layering: Placing lights in the foreground and the background behind furniture, artwork, and other objects to illustrate depth throughout the space 

Read this article to learn more about how to layer lighting in your home. 

Ignoring Fixture Placement.

Consider light fixture placement before installing. The right amount of fixtures ensures proper illumination, but too many fixtures or incorrect placement can cause glare or eye strain. 

Manually estimate the amount of fixtures that should be installed. Calculate the needed wattage by multiplying the square footage of the space by 1.5, and the result is the minimum watts needed. Then, divide by the wattage of the fixture or bulb you plan to install. For example, if the space needs at least 240 watts and you’re installing 40-watt bulbs, at least 6 bulbs are recommended. 

The table below shows lighting recommendations for various residential spaces from the IES, architects, and engineers. 

Purchasing Fixtures That Don’t Match the Theme of the Space.

Guarantee all fixtures in a room follow the same design theme. For example, installing a large, intricate chandelier in your living room would not match a minimalist look. Fixtures installed in the same general area should have the same finish/color to ensure consistency throughout, i.e., all gold or all silver. 

Decide the theme for your space before purchasing any fixtures. That way, you have a clear idea of the style when shopping. You can purchase the fixtures together to compare and ensure the colors match before installation.  

Installing Traditional Lighting Instead of LEDs. 

Replacing fluorescent or incandescent lights with LED home lighting fixtures has multiple benefits. LEDs are energy efficient, emit less heat, and have longer lifespans than traditional bulbs, saving you money on your energy bill and replacement costs. LEDs also produce better light quality.

If you already have traditional lighting in your home, we offer retrofit lighting solutions. Retrofit fixtures can be installed directly into existing housing without completely replacing the fixture. 

The image below highlights the difference in light quality in the same room just by swapping out incandescent recessed downlights with LED recessed downlights. 

Overlooking Dimming or Smart Light Options.

Many people don’t consider LED smart controllers or dimmers necessary for your home. However, having non-dimmable or smart light fixtures leads to higher energy costs, reduced bulb lifespan, and less customizability and automation in your home. 

Implementing dimming controls or smart lighting options is a way to control and adjust your lights. Dimmers allow you to change the brightness based on your mood in addition to saving energy. Smart lighting options operate your fixtures seamlessly through your phone, controller, or smart home system (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant). With Bluetooth Mesh Networks, you can simultaneously control multiple features and add new fixtures to the network as you install them. 

This article is available if you want to learn more about the different Smart Home Protocols available. 

Tips for Lighting Specific Rooms in Your Home 

Kitchen

Most kitchens need overhead lighting and lighting above the island, if applicable, for eating and entertaining guests. Under-cabinet lighting is functional for task lighting when cleaning and cooking dinner. 

Dining Room 

Dining rooms typically need one overhead light. For a more decorative look, install a chandelier or pendant light.

Living Room

The most important living room light fixture is an overhead light, whether recessed downlights, pendant lights, or ceiling fans. Some spaces have a mix of recessed downlights with a ceiling fan, pendant light, or chandelier. Add lamps for additional task or ambient lighting.

Bedroom 

Bedrooms require different types of lighting. General overhead lighting, such as a ceiling fan or recessed lighting, is needed. Additional lighting, with either lamps or strip lights that have a warmer CCT, is also needed when relaxing at night.  

Bathroom

Installing lighting above your bathroom mirror is advised to ensure proper lighting when getting ready. You should install at least one overhead light for general lighting. Check the environmental ratings of these fixtures to verify if they can be placed near water. Fixtures rated for damp or wet locations are recommended.