Lighting guide
Choosing light, plainly.
Five steps and one table cover most rooms. Every product page carries the numbers this guide refers to.
- 01
Start with lumens, not watts
Watts are how much power a light draws. Lumens are how much light it gives. An 8.5 W LED gives the same 800 lm as a 60 W incandescent. Add up the lumens of every fixture in a room and compare to the table below.
- 02
Pick one colour temperature per room
Kelvin is how warm or cool the light looks. 2700K is the warm yellow-white of an incandescent bulb; 5000K is bright daylight white. Mixing temperatures in one room is what makes it look patchy. Several fixtures here have a switch to choose — set them all the same.
- 03
Look for CRI 90 where colour matters
CRI is how accurately colours show under a light, out of 100. Kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces benefit from CRI 90 or higher. In a garage, output matters more.
- 04
Match the dimmer to the bulb
An LED on a dimmer made for incandescent bulbs often flickers, buzzes or cuts out at the low end. Use an LED-rated dimmer — ideally one with a low-end trim adjustment, like the Paddle LED Dimmer — and a bulb or fixture marked dimmable.
- 05
Switch off at the breaker
Turning off the wall switch is not enough to work on a fixture safely. Switch off the circuit at the breaker and check it is dead before touching the wires. If you are not confident, use a licensed electrician — some places require one for any hardwired work.
Lumens by room
Totals for the whole room from all fixtures together. Treat them as a starting point — dark finishes and high ceilings need more.
| Room | Total light | Colour temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | 1,500–3,000 lm | 2700K–3000K |
| Bedroom | 1,000–2,000 lm | 2700K |
| Kitchen | 3,000–4,000 lm | 3000K–3500K |
| Bathroom | 1,500–2,500 lm | 3000K |
| Home office | 2,500–3,500 lm | 3500K–4000K |
| Laundry and utility | 2,000–3,000 lm | 4000K |
| Garage and workshop | 5,000–10,000 lm | 5000K |
Pendant height
Over an island or table, hang the bottom of the shade 30 to 36 in above the surface. In a walkway, keep at least 7 ft of clearance below it.
Recessed spacing
Space recessed lights roughly half the ceiling height apart — about 4 ft in an 8 ft ceiling — and about 2 ft in from the walls.
IP ratings outdoors
The second digit is water protection. IP44 handles splashing and rain on a covered or exposed wall. IP65 handles jets of water and suits floods and path lights.
0–10 V dimming
Commercial fixtures like high bays dim with a separate low-voltage control, not a household wall dimmer. Without one, they run at full output.
Still unsure which fixture fits? Ask us before you order, or browse the shop.