How to Choose the Best Light Bulb for Every Room

Posted on March 15, 2021 by resourcefulman

Lighting in a room is not just part of the decor; it can affect everything from your sleep patterns to how your brain works. Understandably, you want your home, the place you are supposed to spend most of your life in, well lit. But there is plenty to choose from!

Certain types of lighting serve a specific purpose, and when it comes to your home, you need the right type for the purpose of your room. To optimize your home lighting, first think about how you use each room.

Consider the function of each room

Typically, lighting function falls into one of three categories: environment, task, and emphasis.

General or ambient lighting acts as general lighting in a room. It illuminates the entire room and is considered “natural light”. You can use a chandelier, pendant light, track lighting, or wall sconces to create ambient light that fills the room.
The backlight illuminates the workplace or work area for the reading area. You want this lighting to be brighter than your ambient lighting so that the contrast will focus the light in a specified area. Table lamps and under-cabinet kitchen lights are common work lighting options. But pendants and walkway lighting can also be used for work lighting, but that depends on how you apply lighting in your room and how bright your bulbs are (which we’ll talk about later).
Accent lighting highlights a specific area, such as a work of art or a bookcase. It usually creates a shadow around the subject for a dramatic effect. Wall lights and landscape lights are common accent lights.

To properly light up your rooms with these techniques, consider how you are going to use each room and if there is something you want to accentuate in the room. Then proceed to layering. HGTV recommends starting with ambient lighting and then thinking about work and accent lighting:

“I like to go from general to specific when planning lighting for a room,” says lighting designer Markus Earley of Providence, RI. However, in spaces that are highly task-oriented, such as home offices, some designers focus primarily on work lighting. … And in a corridor that can be used as a photo or an art gallery, first of all, you should pay attention to accent lighting.

Then think about where this lighting will be directed in the room. Don’t worry about fixtures just yet, just think about where you want the different lighting to fall in the room. If you’re unsure of where to start, consider the following general suggestions for each room:

Living room : In addition to diffused lighting, Real Simple offers an accent light in one corner of the room. Focus on an object such as a piece of art or a chair.
Kitchen : Add ambient lighting overhead, then add lower work lighting to illuminate the counter where you work. If possible, the sink is also a good place to add work lighting.
Bedroom : In the bedroom, work lights are usually placed on the bedside tables. Real Simple also recommends directing the light away from the bed. They propose to direct the overhead light from the bed, in particular towards the dressing room.
Bathroom : Lighting in a bathroom can be tricky. You need a work light for a mirror, but an overhead work light can create shadows. Consider illuminating the mirror from both sides. Then use an overhead diffused light to fully illuminate the room.

Of course, if you’re a tenant, you may not be able to change much with the lighting in your home or apartment. But these general guidelines can give you an idea of how to work with what you have.

Choose the right bulbs

Your light bulb is your light source, so the type of bulb determines how the light will look. Different lamps work in different ways and there are four main types:

Incandescent bulbs : These are the traditional incandescent bulbs that most of us have used for decades and are gradually phasing out in favor of more energy efficient options. They emit a warm, radiant light.
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) : These use 75 percent less energy than an incandescent lamp . Plus, they last longer. They usually emit a cooler tone, but you can find them in a range of brightness and temperature levels. It is worth noting that CFLs do contain mercury, and although the amount is small, they still require more careful handling and disposal, according to National Geographic.
LEDs : They are as efficient as CFLs, but can last up to three times longer. They used to be primarily used for work lighting because they only produced harsh, direct light, but like CFLs, they’ve come a long way . They now look just like incandescent bulbs, but they are efficient, less hot to the touch, and last longer. They can also be more expensive for these reasons, but there are discounts on utilities .
Halogen : They emit a bright white light similar to natural daylight. Great for work lighting. They also use 10-20 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.

There are other types of light bulbs, but these are the most common ones that you will use in your home. And in this article, we are only interested in how the light bulbs look . If you’d like to learn more about how they work , read this helpful post from the American Lighting Association . The FTC now requires lamp packaging to include information about brightness, lamp life, energy consumption, and Energy Star compliance. (Here is a sample label from NRDC .)

When discussing appearance, we are interested in brightness, which is measured in lumens; and the appearance of light, which is measured in Kelvin.

Lumen is brightness

The more lumens, the brighter the lamp. A typical home lamp produces about 800 lumens, which is equivalent to 60 watts. So how many lumens do you need for each room? This will depend on how big your room is, what color your walls are, and obviously the light intensity you prefer. Use this calculator to calculate the specific number depending on your home and preferences. But here’s a general breakdown via HouseLogic :

Kitchens : 5,000-10,000 Lumens
Bathrooms : 4000-8000 Lumens
Bedrooms : 2,000-4,000 Lumens
Living rooms : 1500-3000 lumens
Dining room : 3000-6000 lumens
Home office : 3000-6000 lumens

Keep in mind that these are rough estimates and take into account the use of different types of bulbs and lighting options in each room. Kitchens tend to be brighter and include, for example, a combination of ambient light and work lighting. Bedrooms and living rooms are usually less bright.

If you know how to light a room in watts, here’s a cheat sheet for watt- lumen ratio .

“Kelvin” is a light kind

Besides brightness, you also have to consider the color temperature of the light. CFLs weren’t good many years ago because they mostly only produced very blue cold light. But they have come a long way and now you can find them in warmer and more yellow tones. The package must indicate the color temperature of the light from warm to cold, measured in Kelvin. The higher the Kelvin, the cooler the light. The lighting blog Batteries + Bulbs explains how lamp boxes generally relate to different temperatures. Also add where these temperatures are best used in your home:

Soft white / warm white (2700 Kelvin) is best suited for bedrooms and living rooms; giving them the traditional feeling of warmth and coziness.
Bright white / cool white (4100 Kelvin) is best suited for kitchens, bathrooms or garages; giving rooms a whiter and more energetic feel.
Daylight (5000-6000 Kelvin) is best suited for bathrooms, kitchens and basements; good for reading, complex projects or applying makeup – provides maximum contrast between colors.

You can also try this interactive tool from Energy Star, which will show you which bulb to choose for the different lighting conditions in each room.

This helps you get a general idea of how light bulbs work. Thus, you can choose the bulb you like. Plus, dimmers are a great option if you want to change the intensity of the light. We’ve covered how to set up the dimmer yourself .

Choose your fixtures

Now that you know the function of your lighting, how bright you want it and what temperature you prefer, it’s time to choose the best type of fixture to optimize all of these factors. Here are some common fixtures and how (and where) they are commonly used:

Ceiling Mount : Standard solution for ambient lighting. Home designers say they are ideal for entrance foyers, hallways, bedrooms, work areas, stairs. In hallways, they recommend placing fixtures every eight to ten feet for adequate lighting.
Chandeliers : When used for general or ambient lighting, they are best used in dining rooms or bedrooms.
Wall lights : usually sconces. They can be used in any room for ambient, work or accent lighting, depending on where you put them and what kind of light bulb you use.
Pendant lighting : Used for work or general lighting, they hang from the ceiling and are fitted with shades to avoid glare. They look best over dining tables, countertops, or other work areas.
Recessed lighting : Again, recessed lighting can be used anywhere for general, work or accent lighting. It all depends on how bright they are and where they are.
Track Lighting : You can use track lighting for just about anything. It is especially versatile because you can often move individual bulbs and point them in any direction. It can be an accent to highlight some of the artwork, or you can just use it to illuminate an entire room.
Table lamps : Great for accent lighting in the living room or working light in the bedroom.

The Lighting Research Center offers detailed information on some additional lighting fixtures, including how to install them and what kind of lighting effect they have. Remember: different fixtures require different types of lamps. So, when choosing a lamp, think about what type of lamp it needs.

This is more of a design rule than a lighting rule, but size should also be considered when choosing the right fixture. A lamp that is too small or too large can make your room look unusual. LightsOnline provides some guidelines for choosing the right luminaire size, but here are some highlights:

Table lamps . As a general rule of thumb, the height of the lamp should be no more than 1.5 times the height of the lamp, and the diameter of the shade should not exceed the width of the table top.
Chandeliers and Pendant Lights : Measure the width or diameter of your table. Then subtract 12 inches from that number. This is the maximum limit for the width or diameter of the pendant light. Keep in mind that a fixture with a busy or complex design will actually appear larger, so if that grabs your attention, you may want to reduce the maximum width slightly. Assuming you have 8-foot ceilings, the bottom of the fixture should be 30 to 36 inches above the table top. But if your ceilings are taller, it’s a good idea to add another 3 inches above the table for every additional foot of ceiling.
Sconce : The closer you get to what the sconce illuminates, the smaller the sconce should be. So, for example, in bathrooms where you will be close to the mirror, go for the tiny ones, about 9-10 inches. In bathrooms, install sconces 36-40 inches to the sides of the mirror and 18 inches from the centerline of the sink. If your sconces have shades, place the bottom edges of the shades slightly below eye level (60-68 inches from the floor).

For some, home design comes naturally and it’s easy enough to glimpse your lighting when decorating. The rest of us may need to follow a few rules and guidelines and should point you in the right direction.

This story was originally published in June 2015 and updated in November 2020 to include updated links and a new header photo. Updated March 15, 2021 to reflect current style rules.

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