I’ll be honest – lighting used to intimidate me. All those technical terms, the overwhelming number of options, and the fear of making expensive mistakes.
But here’s what I’ve learned after years of designing spaces and studying professional lighting techniques: lighting isn’t just about being able to see – it’s the single most powerful tool for transforming how a space feels, functions, and even appears to change size.
Good lighting can make a small room feel spacious, a cheap rental feel expensive, and a cold space feel welcoming. Bad lighting? It can make even the most beautifully decorated room feel flat and uninviting. The difference between a house and a home often comes down to how it’s lit.
If you’ve ever wondered why some spaces feel so much more inviting than others, or why your room looks great during the day but terrible at night, this guide will change how you see every room you enter.
The Foundation — Layered Lighting
The secret to professional lighting design isn’t just about picking beautiful fixtures — it’s about layering light. Think of it like adding depth to a photograph: you need a foreground, midground, and background for the scene to feel alive.
Professionals use three main layers:
Ambient Lighting (The Foundation) This is your room’s general illumination — the background light that makes it comfortable to move around. It’s often provided by ceiling fixtures like chandeliers, pendants, flush mounts, or recessed lighting. Ambient light creates the base brightness level, but on its own it can feel flat.
Task Lighting (Function First) Task lighting is targeted light for activities that need more precision — reading, cooking, grooming, or working. This could be a reading lamp, under-cabinet strips in the kitchen, or sconces beside a bathroom mirror. Without task lighting, you either end up squinting or blasting the whole room with overly bright light.
Accent Lighting (The Mood Maker) Accent lighting draws the eye to focal points — artwork, architectural details, plants, or textured walls. It adds visual interest and depth. This could be a picture light over a painting, LED strips in coves, or uplights behind a plant.
Why this matters: A single ceiling fixture can make a room feel flat, shadowy, and unbalanced. Layering ensures every activity has the right light and your space feels dynamic, inviting, and well thought out.
How to Bring Those Layers to Life
Once you know the layers, the next step is deciding where and how to place each type. This is where good design meets practical thinking.
Start with the Purpose of the Room
- In a living room, you might combine a dimmable ceiling fixture (ambient), a floor lamp for reading (task), and wall sconces highlighting art (accent).
- In a kitchen, recessed ceiling lights for ambient, bright under-cabinet strips for task, and pendant lights over the island for accent.
Think About Placement and Scale — The Details That Make or Break Your Design
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen gorgeous, expensive fixtures completely ruin a room simply because they were hung in the wrong spot or sized incorrectly. Even the best light won’t work if it’s in the wrong place – and getting placement right can make an average fixture look like a million bucks.
Chandeliers/Pendants: Here’s the sizing rule I use with every client – fixture diameter in inches should equal room length + width in feet. Example: 12×14 ft room → 26″ fixture. This creates perfect visual balance without overwhelming or underwhelming the space.
Over Dining Tables: The fixture should be ½–⅔ the width of the table, hung 30–34 inches above the surface. Any higher and it won’t properly light the table; any lower and tall guests will bump their heads (trust me, it happens).
Kitchen Worktops: Aim for 400 lux minimum on your counters – this is where precision matters most. Under-cabinet LEDs are your best friend here because they eliminate the shadows you’d get from overhead lighting when your body blocks the light.
Mind the Shadows and Glare Position task lights so they don’t cast your own shadow on the work area. Use shades, diffusers, or frosted bulbs to soften light where needed.
Adapt for Safety On stairs, install two-way switches at top and bottom, with lighting that creates clear contrast on each tread. I’ve seen too many beautiful staircases become accident hazards because the lighting was an afterthought. In bathrooms, use moisture-rated fixtures (look for IP44 rating or higher) and always layer general lighting with task lighting around mirrors. Nobody wants to apply makeup or shave in their own shadow.
How Much Light Do You Actually Need?
Have you ever wondered if your room has enough light sources? Will it look well-lit or maybe too bright and harsh? I can show you how to easily figure that out.
Now that you’ve planned your layers and placements, it’s time to figure out how bright each layer should be.
Lighting is measured in two key ways:
Lumens — The Light Output Lumens measure the total amount of light a bulb produces. Higher lumens mean more light, but it’s only part of the story.
Lux — The Light You Experience Lux measures how much light actually lands on a surface (1 lux = 1 lumen per square meter). This is what determines how bright a space feels. There are overall guidelines for how many lux per square meter you need in each room for it to feel well-lit for its purpose. So for the best results, you can check the guidelines and with quick calculations find out if you’re on the right track. I like to do these calculations for every client to ensure that the rooms are not under-lit. If you layer lighting, you can always turn off some of the lights, but adding them late in the game is harder. It’s good to plan enough ceiling, wall, and accent lights (like table lamps or lights under shelving) from the start.
The Quick Calculation
For US measurements (square feet): Multiply your room’s square footage by the recommended lumens per square foot for its purpose:
| Room type | Lumens per Sq Ft (Ambient) |
| Livingroom | 30-50 |
| Kitchen | 40-80 |
| Dining Room | 30-40 |
| Bedroom | 10-20 |
| Bathroom | 60-80 |
| Home Office | 30-70 |
| Hallway | 10-20 |
Example:
- 120 sq ft living room × 30 lumens = 3600 lumens total (ambient layer)
- 120 sq ft kitchen × 50 lumens = 6000 lumens total (ambient layer)
For metric measurements (square meters): Multiply your room’s square meters by the recommended lux for its purpose:
| Room type | Lumens per Sq Ft (Ambient) |
| Livingroom | 400-500 |
| Kitchen | 400-800 |
| Dining Room | 300-400 |
| Bedroom | 100-200 |
| Bathroom | 600-800 |
| Home Office | 300-700 |
| Hallway | 100-200 |
Example:
- 11 m² living room × 400 lux = 4400 lumens total (ambient layer)
- 11 m² kitchen × 500 lux = 5,500 lumens total (ambient layer)
You’ll add task and accent lighting on top of these numbers for flexibility and balance.
How to Shop — Reading a Bulb or Fixture Label
Armed with your lumens target, you can now shop smart. Here’s what to check on the box:
Lumens (lm) → Brightness output (your calculated number tells you how many you need). Usually you see lumens between 400-800 when shopping for home bulbs. So, if you’re still used to watts, here’s a handy conversion chart based on traditional incandescent bulbs:
| Traditional Incandescent Watts | LED Equivalent Lumens |
| 25W | 200-300 lm |
| 40W | 400-500 lm |
| 60W | 700-800 lm |
| 75W | 900-1100 lm |
| 100W | 1400-1600 lm |
Color Temperature (Kelvin): Controls the light’s warmth or coolness.
- 2700K–3000K = Warm, cozy (living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms). Best for homes. In one room, use the same Kelvin value in every bulb to get a cohesive look.
- 3000K = Warm white with more clarity (kitchens, hallways). You can use this in kitchens, but 2700K works well also.
- 4000K+ = Cool, crisp (offices, task areas). This is too cool a color temperature for me, so I never use bulbs over 3000K in homes, but you can test and see what you like most.
- 5000K and over – I would definitely not use in home settings. Valuable in industrial settings.
CRI (Color Rendering Index): How accurately colors appear (scale 0–100). The higher the number, the higher the light color quality and usually the higher the price.
- 80+ = Good for most spaces
- 90+ = Best for kitchens, bathrooms, closets, or anywhere color accuracy matters. Therefore, if you can, use 90+ CRI everywhere – your eyes will thank you.
Beam Angle: Narrow for spotlighting, wide for general lighting. Spotlight angle is usually between 15-60 degrees; wider angles for ambient lighting are usually 120 degrees. So if you want to create a light spot on a coffee table or on a wall illuminating an art piece, choose a narrower angle and higher lumens – that way your spot of light is really defined.
Dimmable Yes/No? Essential for flexible mood and function.
Smart Lighting — A Game Changer
Here’s something I wish I had discovered earlier in my lighting journey: smart lighting isn’t just a fancy upgrade anymore — it’s become one of the most practical ways to get your lighting right without costly mistakes.
Lighting control has come a long way, and it’s no longer just for luxury homes. I’ve seen clients transform their spaces simply by adding smart controls to their existing fixtures.
High-end systems: Lutron Caséta, Ra2 Select — ultra-smooth dimming, whole-home scene control that feels like magic when you walk through your house.
Budget-friendly: IKEA Tradfri bulbs or affordable smart switches that work with your existing fixtures. You don’t need to rewire anything to get started.
There are many more options that you can connect with your Siri, Alexa, or other home virtual assistants. Do your own research and find the best solution for your home and needs.
Why it matters: Smart lighting lets you change the brightness, color, and mood instantly — without rewiring your whole house. I love being able to dim my living room for movie nights or brighten my kitchen when I’m cooking. It’s like having multiple lighting designs in one space.
But here’s one of my favorite benefits that nobody talks about: with smart plugs or smart switches, you can turn all your table lamps, floor lamps, and accent lights on or off at the same time with just one click. No more running through the room hunting for individual switches on every lamp – it saves so much time and frustration, especially when you’re setting the mood for guests or winding down for the evening.
Factors That Can Affect Your Lighting Plan
Even with perfect calculations and beautiful fixtures, there are a few environmental factors that can make or break your lighting design. I learned this the hard way when my first perfectly planned room felt completely off once everything was installed.
Ceiling Height: Higher ceilings need either brighter bulbs or more fixtures. That 1,800-lumen calculation for your living room? If you have 12-foot ceilings instead of 8-foot ones, you might need 20-30% more light to achieve the same brightness at eye level.
Wall Colors: This is where physics meets design. Light colors reflect light, making spaces feel brighter and more spacious — you can actually get away with fewer lumens. Dark walls absorb light like a sponge, meaning you’ll need significantly more lumens to achieve the same feeling of brightness. I always factor this into my calculations now.
Glare & Shadows: Even the best lighting plan can feel uncomfortable if you’re squinting or dealing with harsh shadows. Use diffusers, frosted bulbs, and properly shielded fixtures to keep light comfortable. Position task lighting so it illuminates your work without creating shadows of your own hands or head.
Also consider ceiling spotlight placement and avoid placing them straight above the couch so when guests are sitting down it creates harsh shadows on people’s faces. Same goes for bathrooms and vanity lighting. You do not want to place a spotlight directly over your head; instead, place it in front of the vanity mirror, so the light beam is between the mirror and your face.
If You Rent — You Still Have Options
One of the most common questions I get is: “This all sounds great, but I’m renting – what can I actually do?” The good news? You have more options than you think, and many of them will make your space look like it has custom built-ins.
Plug-in sconces and picture lights give a built-in look without any wiring. I’ve used these in countless rental transformations, and guests are always surprised to learn they’re not hardwired.
Floor and table lamps for quick layering. This is your fastest path to professional-looking lighting. A few well-placed lamps can completely transform a space that relies on a single overhead fixture.
Adhesive LED strips for accent lighting without drilling holes. Perfect for under-cabinet lighting in kitchens, behind headboards, or highlighting architectural details. Just make sure to choose high-quality strips that won’t leave residue when you move out.
Rechargeable bulbs and battery-operated fixtures are game-changers for spots where you don’t have convenient plugs. Modern battery-powered LED fixtures can run for weeks on a single charge and look just as sophisticated as their hardwired cousins. Perfect for closets, under-cabinet lighting, or creating accent lighting in awkward corners. Or you can use rechargeable light bulbs in your normal table lamp for flexibility.
Now that you know how to choose the right light bulb and how many you need in your home, you have only one final step left, which is how to choose and place light fixtures. You can read all about it in my blog post on how to choose a light fixture.
