A beacon to light the way

Have you ever been to someone’s house where you left and wondered why you just didn’t feel particularly comfortable? Chances are, the lighting in the house was off. No, I don’t mean they didn’t have lights on, I mean the color temperature, the location, and quantity of lights wasn’t well thought out.

I’ve had fascination with lighting for as long as I can remember. I’m interested in things that please the senses, and lighting is crucial to any space, especially the ones we spend the most time in, like our homes and offices.

The dimly lit backroom bar

Have you ever watched a movie set in the early 1900’s and thought, wow, it looks so romantic? Chances are, it has a lot to do with the lighting. The light bulb is often attributed to Thomas Edison because of his company’s invention of a practical, long-lasting bulb in 1879. But, there were a lot of individuals and companies working on creating light bulbs as early as the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.

image: (Death & Co. Los Angeles) secretlosangeles.com

The invention of the light bulb ushered in a whole new way of life, from increased urbanization to advancements in medicine. Underneath these changes was the way the light bulb changed the culture, enabling the night to become a time in which people could engage and interact with one another more readily and comfortably.

Whether it’s the warm incandescent glow of the early 1900’s or the LED glow of the 2020’s, lighting is as important as ever to culture.

The paradox of choice and consumerism

There has never been a time in history with more consumer choice than the present. The lighting category has been especially impacted by the advancements in manufacturing technology and supply chain . The proliferation of options when it comes to lighting is astounding.

image: (battery operated table lamp) etsy.com/atelierretrostore

Beyond the typical lights that are plugged into an outlet or hardwired into the wall, there’s an entirely new category of portable lighting that’s able to run on rechargeable batteries due to the efficiency of LED bulbs. I’m enamored by these new lights due to the sheer variety of forms. But it’s not without its downsides, one of which is that it threatens to turn lights into another inexpensive consumable, meant to be used and thrown away when our tastes change ever so slightly. This is drastically different from even recent history, when most people would buy a light, whether a chandelier, flush mount, floor lamp, or table lamp, and keep it until they completely redecorated their home or moved.

As with many things in material culture, we are forced to take the good with the bad, operating at the razor’s edge between overconsumption and enjoying the things we like. But with a little bit of planning, some good old fashioned internet research, and patience, it’s possible to make lighting purchases that will make your space feel inviting for years to come.

Kelvins are key

There are a handful of helpful guidelines to utilize to make a space feel inviting.

Guideline #1: Think about the type of room that you’re lighting and what you’ll spend time doing in that room. For the kitchen, you’ll want a variety of lights, with some overhead lights directly above the cooking area around 3,000K - 4,500K. You’ll also want some lights around, like sconces or table lights that go lower, in the 2,000K - 3,000K range. Whatever space you’re lighting, for the sanity of yourself and your guests, don’t go above 5,000K on the Kelvin color spectrum for home lighting.

Guideline #2: The softer and warmer the light, the better people look. The better people feel about how they look, the more comfortable they are. Softer, warmer light also creates a more relaxing ambiance. Sure, if you’re in the kitchen cooking, turn the lights up so you can see what you’re doing, but when it comes time to eat, turn the lights to a dimmer setting, and make sure there is a variety of lights from different locations and angles, not just overhead lighting.

image: (Kelvin temperature scale) ledlightingwholesaleinc.com

Guideline #3: It’s important to have a variety of lights at different heights. Most homes will have overhead lighting installed in the ceiling. You’ll find a lot of advice from professional interior designers suggesting overhead lighting is less than ideal, but I think that’s just impractical. Recessed overhead lighting serves a purpose to fully light a room. Just make sure you have the lights on a dimmer and they are between 2,000K - 3,000K and you should be good. Combine this with wall sconces, floor lamps, and table lamps with everything on dimmers, and you’ll have all the variety you need to set ambiance for any mood or time of day.

Personal taste and options

If you live in or close to a city, chances are there are there are still at least one or two lighting stores. Often these are the same places that carry other fixtures for the home, particularly for the bathroom. These stores are good places to go to get a feel for the types of lights, but they often don’t stock the sheer variety of lights you can find online because they work with specific distributors.

You also have the big box stores like West Elm, Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn, and even places like Home Depot and Lowes. These stores all carry a variety of lighting options in-store, but carry far more online. Across these stores the quality, selection, and prices all vary quite drastically. Online retailers like Joss & Main and Lamps Plus carry large selections, and you’ll often find some overlap in designs and manufacturers with some of the other big box stores.

There is another category of lighting retailers that design and assemble lighting to sell direct-to-consumer like Schoolhouse and Mitzi.

With so many options, it can get a bit daunting attempting to make a purchase of something you likely intend to keep for a long time. Keep in mind, most retailers will have a solid return policy, and if you decide a year down the line that you want to go in a different direction, there’s always Facebook Marketplace.

There are a lot of possibilities to have fun and create a space that feels uniquely your own. Use the guidelines, take the plunge and thank me later.