How to light your home
Good lighting is less about one beautiful fitting and more about how several work together. This guide covers the numbers that matter — brightness, colour, size and height — so you can choose with confidence, room by room.
Think in layers, not fittings
Rooms feel best when light comes from several sources at different heights. Designers group them into three layers — plan all three before you choose a single piece.
Layer oneAmbientThe even, overall glow — usually a pendant, chandelier or ceiling light. Put it on a dimmer so it can be bright for tidying and low in the evening.
Layer twoTaskFocused, brighter light exactly where you read, cook or work — a lamp beside a chair, pendants over a bench, lights either side of a mirror.
Layer threeAccentLow, warm light that picks out texture and objects — artwork, stone, shelving, plants. It adds depth, and it's what makes a room feel finished.How much light each room needs
Brightness is measured in lumens, not watts. As a starting point, multiply a room's floor area by the figure below, then share that total across all of the room's light sources — not just the ceiling light.
| Room | Lumens per m² | Per ft² | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | 100–200 | 10–20 | Keep it layered; add lamps for reading |
| Bedroom | 100–200 | 10–20 | Bedside lamps do most of the work at night |
| Dining room | 300–400 | 30–40 | Focus the light on the table; dim for dinner |
| Kitchen (general) | 300–400 | 30–40 | Plus brighter task light over benches |
| Kitchen benches & island | 750–850 | 70–80 | Pendants or under-cabinet lighting |
| Bathroom | 750–850 | 70–80 | Even light at the mirror matters most |
| Home office | 650–850 | 60–80 | Add a desk lamp for close work |
| Hallway | 50–100 | 5–10 | Enough to move safely; accent light adds warmth |
Example: a 4 × 5 m living room (20 m²) needs roughly 2,000–4,000 lumens in total. For reference, a traditional 60 W bulb gives about 800 lumens and a 100 W bulb about 1,600.
Choosing the colour of your light
Colour temperature, measured in kelvin (K), describes how warm or cool white light looks. Lower numbers glow golden; higher numbers look crisp and blue.
Keep one colour temperature per room — and across open-plan spaces — so the light looks consistent. Then check the CRI (colour rendering index): 80 is fine for general use, while 90 or above shows food, skin, timber and artwork most accurately. More in our guide 2700K or 3000K?
Getting the size right
Over a dining table, size the light to the table, not the room: choose a fitting between one half and two thirds of the table's width. A 90 cm table suits a 45–60 cm light; a 150 cm round table, 75–100 cm.
Long tables suit a linear chandelier about two thirds of the table's length, or two or three pendants in a row.
In an open room or entry, add the room's length and width in feet and use that number in inches as a guide to diameter — a 12 × 14 ft room (about 3.7 × 4.3 m) suits a light around 26 in (66 cm) across.
Between two sizes? Choose the larger — fittings nearly always look smaller once they're hung. Our chandelier sizing guide goes further.
How high to hang and mount
Measure to the bottom of the fitting. These are starting points for a standard 2.4 m (8 ft) ceiling — hold the light in place and check it by eye before it's fixed.
| Where | Height | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|
| Over a dining table | 75–90 cm above the tabletop | Add about 7.5 cm for every extra 30 cm of ceiling height |
| Over a kitchen island | 75–90 cm above the bench | Two pendants for smaller islands, three for longer ones, about 75 cm apart |
| Walkways, halls & entries | At least 2.1 m clear of the floor | Keep large fittings well clear of doors and walls |
| Wall lights & sconces | 150–180 cm from the floor | Around eye level, so you see the glow rather than the bulb |
| Above a bathroom mirror | 190–200 cm from the floor | Or a pair either side of the mirror at about eye level |
Two pendants over an island: set each one a quarter of the island's length in from its end, so they're evenly balanced.
Put almost everything on a dimmer
Dimming is the simplest way to make one room work from breakfast to late evening. Two things need to match:
- The fitting or bulb must be labelled dimmable — not every LED is.
- The dimmer must be LED-compatible. Dimmers designed for old incandescent bulbs can cause flicker, buzzing or a limited range.
If a fitting has an integrated LED, check its specifications before you buy, and ask your electrician to confirm the dimmer suits LED loads. For a candle-like glow late at night, look for dim-to-warm bulbs, which become warmer in colour as they dim.
Bathrooms and outdoors: read the IP rating
An IP (ingress protection) rating has two digits. The first shows protection against dust and solids (0–6); the second, against water (0–8). The higher the numbers, the tougher the fitting.
- IP20 — dry indoor rooms only.
- IP44 — splashes from any direction: bathrooms away from the shower, covered porches and verandahs.
- IP54 — dust-protected and splash-resistant: semi-covered outdoor spaces.
- IP65 — dust-tight and protected against water jets: exposed walls, gardens and façades.
- IP67 — temporary immersion: in-ground and path lights where water can pool.
Bathrooms are divided into zones around the bath and shower, and the rating needed in each is set by your local wiring rules — your electrician will confirm what can go where.
A quick plan for every room
- Living room — a dimmable ceiling light, two or three lamps at different heights, and one accent light on art or shelving.
- Dining — one statement fitting centred on the table (not the room), on a dimmer.
- Kitchen — even ceiling light, brighter task light over benches and the island, 3000K throughout.
- Bedroom — soft overhead light, with bedside lamps or wall lights at reading height; 2700K.
- Bathroom — even light at the mirror, above or either side, rated for its zone; 3000K with a high CRI.
- Hallways & stairs — enough light to move safely, fittings kept clear of heads and doors; sconces add warmth.
- Outdoors — IP-rated, warm-white light at entries and paths, angled to avoid glare.
Your pre-purchase checklist
Tick these off before you order — it takes five minutes and prevents most sizing and compatibility surprises.
Ask for styling advice
Send us a photo of your room with its measurements and we'll suggest pieces, sizes and hanging heights — free of charge.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR — Learn about brightness (lumen equivalents)
- The Home Depot — Lumens per square foot by room
- Super Bright LEDs — Colour temperature, lumens and CRI
- Seus Lighting — How high to hang a chandelier above a dining table
- Visual Comfort — Kitchen island pendant height and placement
- Robern — Best height for light fixtures in every room
- Lumitop — IP44, IP54 or IP65: choosing the right IP rating
- U.S. Department of Energy — Dim-to-warm LED lighting
Figures are general guidance. Always follow the product's instructions and your local wiring rules, and have hardwired fittings installed by a licensed electrician.
