When planning room lighting during renovations, many people want to cover everything at once the first time. Their desire is quite understandable: each of us wants to make our home comfortable and cozy, but it is quite problematic to predict the full range of aspects that will be needed. In this article most of these aspects are covered.
Lighting specialists during their work rely on the most popular wishes of customers and strive to answer their questions. In a generalized form, the most common of them include the following: “Won’t it be too dark / too much light here?”, “Do these models of lamps tire the eyes?”, “What dimensions should be so that they do not interfere in the home?", "What picture light to choose for my painting?". The answer is a whole collection of requirements for the placement of light fixtures, taking into account their type, size, the brightness of the bulbs used, color temperature, etc. We cannot give a complete set of rules here, but we will try to highlight at least the most typical situations.
The basic premise of any of the standards below is that the light source should always be located in such a way that its presence is necessary, the dimensions do not interfere with comfortable living, and the beneficial effect always greatly exceeds the possible inconvenience. Due to the fact that today there is a huge variety of models of lighting equipment on the market, it is not difficult to follow these postulates.
Specialists always start by measuring the available space - that is, the ceiling of the room that needs to be illuminated, and the free space on its walls. First of all, it is customary to fill the upper level, and only then, as necessary, move on to the middle or lower. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that today only relatively ordinary interiors will be considered, without design frills and artsy lighting solutions. The numbers below can be used if you are doing repairs in the following style: classicism, modern, eco-style, hi-tech, loft, country, techno, retro, and sometimes even minimalism and Scandinavian style - if the space does not look overly cluttered.
Usually, the arrangement of devices begins with the positioning of the chandelier - almost all owners want to install this light source for themselves, and its place is already known. In some cases, when the room is very large - not just wide, but also elongated - it makes sense to put two identical chandeliers at once. To do this, the ceiling is conditionally divided into three parts, and light fixtures are mounted just in the middle of the width of these dividing lines. If we are talking about only one chandelier, proportions must be respected for a harmonious appearance. The ideal combination - the diameter of the device is only 4% of the perimeter of the room. For simplicity, you can add the length and width of the room, and then calculate 1/12 of the part. In the event that the shape of your living room is square, it is permissible to use a proportion of 1/10 of the same amount, but then the height of the suspension of the product will have to be slightly reduced. In addition, it is important to keep in mind that the larger the chandelier, the more symmetrical it should be.
When it comes to rooms with a lot of furniture, and hanging artworks - for example, in offices, kitchens, and dining rooms, the principles for placing pendant lights will be slightly different. Products should be tried to be placed above the center of the tabletop, while you can completely ignore the location of the table itself relative to other objects in the room (with the exception of the center). In most cases, people equip the dining area against the wall with a longer length, placing the countertop close. In order to sit down to dine comfortably and at the same time there was no threat of hitting the light fixture with your head, it is necessary to limit its dimensions. The minimum value is 30 cm from all edges of the table to the nearest point of the lamp. If the table is large enough but narrow, it may make sense to purchase a linear lamp with an oblong shape. At the same time, it is extremely important to choose a model with a frosted diffuser and external reflectors that will shield part of the flow. The latter is necessary so that sitting people are not blinded by direct rays.
In bathrooms and toilets, light sources can be placed both on the ceiling and on the walls. In this case, the minimum comfortable height from the floor will be 2.05 m. To minimize the likelihood of accidentally hooking the product with your hand when combing or blow-drying your hair, you should avoid any products with hangers or rods. Recessed spotlights with a diameter of at least 10 cm, evenly spaced on the ceiling, are considered a good choice. If you are unwilling or unable to use such models in your repair, they can be replaced with wall lamps with matte shades, and best of all - an oblong shape. If you want to place several light fixtures symmetrically on opposite walls, no product should be above the mirror, otherwise, the reflected backlight will always dazzle a standing person.
In bedrooms, you should give preference to two-tier lighting: the central chandelier should be complemented by wall lamps or sconces - at the discretion of the owners. This will allow you to smoothly move from one lighting picture to another in the evenings, and if there are lamps on each side of the bed, it will be even more convenient for the spouses to use the lighting. For the bedroom, it's better to choose rounded chandeliers or ones with spherical shades. In addition, you should pay attention to the number of cartridges: a model designed for one lamp will always be a problem - sometimes too bright, sometimes too dim, and the 360 ° beam spread angle can be uncomfortable in situations where one of the spouses is still sleeping, in while the other is getting ready for work. Therefore, in the bedroom it is better to hang models with three or four cartridges, looking in different directions. If there is a switch with several buttons, this will allow more adaptive control of the light in the room.
It's time to talk in detail about the height of the light sources. In each case, a balance must be struck between the necessary illumination, convenience in everyday life, and the aesthetics of the composition itself, especially if you have paintings on the wall. When these factors conflict, the choice is made in favor of increasing the number of devices per unit of space, perhaps even with a slight decrease in their brightness.
In living rooms, chandeliers are traditionally placed above everything else. Given the fact that flattened ceiling models are mounted only in the smallest living rooms, in most cases, they simply use models on a short rod or with a support bracket. It is customary to correlate the height of the chandelier with two parameters - the absolute value of the distance from the floor and the situational value between the lower point of the device and the ceiling. Let's start with a simple one: if there are no people in the family with a height above 1.8 m, that very lowest point of the chandelier may well be at a height of 2.1 m. This is usually important if you want to illuminate a piece of art and if you are hanging picture lights. In houses with high ceilings, starting from 2 m 75 cm, the lower point should be raised to at least 2.3 m, otherwise, the space in the center of the room will look cluttered, and the residents will not have enough lighting. In addition, if there are more than sixty centimeters between the chandelier and the ceiling, in the evenings you will see long unpleasant shadows on the ceiling. In spacious rooms, it is wiser to initially overestimate the level of the chandelier, and then fill this volume with something ornate. Also, do not forget that a significant area needs more light bulbs. Therefore, the ideal solution is either a traditional carob chandelier with decorative elements or a classic model with light and transparent pendants.
Above the dining table, the lamps must be placed in accordance with the dimensions of the countertop. For example, if the smaller side of the table is 1 meter, the distance to the bottom point may be less than 55 cm. Another issue is that the resulting light picture will not be very comfortable. If the table is relatively small, the minimum height should already be 70 cm, but the maximum height should be 1 m. In this range, it is easiest to choose a suspension length that will sufficiently provide lighting for dishes and seating but will not clog the eyes.
According to the rules in the kitchen, you should have several levels of light - upper and local. At the same time, the chandelier for the kitchen should not be unnecessarily shielded: its luminous flux must be sufficient for free movement around the kitchen and getting a general idea of objects located in the shade of the wall cabinets. But local lighting is just designed to save the kitchen from shady areas and ensure the safety of the hostess. It can be arranged at any convenient height, but so that the light source is not in direct line of sight of a person standing at full height.
A good option is to lay the LED strip in a special corner aluminum profile covered with a diffuser, just where the lower part of the cabinets adjoins the wall. This place is also convenient because it does not take up usable space and, with a minimum probability, can be splashed with something in the process of cooking.
In the bedroom, the height of a chandelier or lamp is often selected only in accordance with the height of the residents. The minimum distance from the top of the tallest person in the house should be 25 cm. Most often, when repairing, people come to a value of 2.1 m, which most manufacturers of suspended models are already focused on, so you don’t have to invent anything new. Everything else is at the personal discretion of the owners.
In hallways and corridors, especially if they are long, it is best to use single-lamp pendant chandeliers of small diameter. Under such conditions, it will be convenient for a person to look in a mirror without being blinded by direct or reflected light.
Stairs require special attention. If you need to place the light source not on the landing of the floor, but directly above the heads of people climbing the stairs, you should always strive to fix it as high as possible. It is believed that the minimum distance between the back of the head and the ceiling should be 40 cm, but not every high-rise housing can achieve this. Then overhead ceiling lights are used, which are attached directly to the upper flight of stairs from below. In cases where tall people already have to bend down when lifting, you can move the devices to the wall. Only in this case, products should be installed that scatter light almost parallel to the partition or tangential to it, at a slight angle to the steps themselves.
In pantries and attics, lighting is almost always lacking, and it will not be possible to completely overcome this, especially if a lot of old and half-forgotten things are stored there in bulk. All you can do is equip the desired area or room with a few hooks from which portable lamps with long cords will hang. Then, if necessary, to find something, a person will simply take the carrier with him, fix it in a convenient place and the problem will be solved.
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