Furnishing your home, or just buying new lamps, you have to know basic information about lightingtypes. Every room of your house requires unique light to give it a special accent and characteristic nature. Lighting should be chosen according to its function: pure practicality, cosy home completing or details highlighting. We will elucidate to you main illumination types and give you some suggestions and tips, how to place lighting correct to achieve the desired look.
Lighting Types
General type
Illuminates an entire living space to enable you to move in your home safely. Light reflect off walls and ceilings to cover the biggest possible area. General lighting is divided into the up-lights (toward the ceiling) and very popular down-lights (from the ceiling).
Task type
Illuminates a smaller area, where more light is needed (workplace, laptop table, child table). Work light should be three times as bright as ambient light. For this purpose, you can use popular desk lamps, under-cabinet kitchen lights, pendants and track lighting. If you feel work lamp is too bright, just use higher light per watt bulbs in other fixtures, or use more fixtures in a room to boost general lighting.
Accent type
Highlights a particular area, which seeking for your attention. Work of art, bookcase, or painting are objects, that deserve a right spotlight. Accent lighting should be no more than three times as bright as general light and make sure that no glaring reflection bounce back to block your sight.
Choose right bulbs
Incandescent
Traditional and most used bulbs. They produce a warm, glowing light.
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)
These bulbs usually emit a cooler tone, but use 75 % less energy than incandescent bulbs and last longer.
LEDs
LEDs are just as efficient as CFLs, but they can last up to three times longer, so they can also be more expensive.
Halogen
These bulbs give a light similar to natural daylight and use 10 – 20 % less energy than incandescent bulbs.
Lighting for each room
Living room
Use ambient light mixed with an accent light in one corner of the room. Ambient light should illuminate the whole space and create a cosy feeling. Accent light could be focused on an art or a chair. For reading, use table down – glowing lamp with an appropriate lampshade. Choose bulbs that produce between 1,500-3,000 lumens.
Dining room
Make the table the brightest spot in the room using a bold pendant, or a chandelier. Indirect light is the best choice elsewhere in the room to leave the dining table shine. Choose bulbs that produce between 3,000-6,000 lumens.
Kitchen
Focus on overhead lighting and add lower task light to illuminate your workspace. Use pendants and under-cabinet lights. Try to place the lighting correctly, so you don´t make a shadow on your sink or another important place. Choose bulbs that produce between 5,000-10,000 total lumens.
Bedroom
The most important about lighting in a bedroom is pointing any light away from your bed, or angling overhead ambient light toward the dressing area. For a cosy atmosphere, place reading lamps on your nightstands. Choose bulbs that produce between 2,000-4,000 total lumens.
Bathroom
Use the ambient lighting to illuminate the whole room. Direct light over the shower is also a very effective way to create a decorative lighting tool. The best choice for seeing your face without any shadows is sidelights, such as a pair of sconces flanking the mirror. Choose bulbs that produce between 4,000-8,000 total lumens.