What is Light Temperature and How Can It Change the Whole Feel of Your Home?

If you have a room in your home that just doesn’t work despite the nice furniture and décor, you may be overlooking a key factor. The type of light we use has a huge impact on how we feel in a space, and while you might have taken the time to pick out the right lamps or light fixtures, you might not have considered light temperature. Light temperature refers to the spectrum that light bulbs are available in, ranging from cold to warm, and though each has benefits, here are a few tips to understanding how the light in a room can make the whole space feel different.

1. Understand The Spectrum

Light or colour temperature has a spectrum that measures in ‘Kelvins’. The lower the Kelvin temperature, the ‘warmer’ the light, while the higher temperatures are ‘cooler’ light. Warm light can range from soft orange (like the shade of candlelight) while cool light looks brighter white, the sort you’ll find in a lot of commercial spaces. Most light bulbs are available between 2700K to 6500K.

2. Think About How You Want Each Room To Feel

Lighting temperature can have a huge effect on your mood and productivity, so think about how you plan to use each space. You’ll likely want cool bright light for getting ready in your bathroom each morning, and a nice natural white will make your kitchen feel homey while still making sure you can see what you're cutting. Your bedroom and living room are where you’ll want the most ambient, warm light to make for a relaxing space at the end of the day and improve your rest.

3. Think About Mixing And Matching

You might find that you want to go between a bright top light to see all corners of a room while also having the option of ambient light for when you just want to relax. Bathrooms are a great place to mix temperatures, and if your fixtures are set up in such a way, you can have one bright ceiling light controlled with one switch while the other ceiling light is warmer, for a relaxing soak. If the fixtures are minimal in the living room and you’d like to keep bright lights for when you need them, try bringing in lamps to add décor to your space and cast soft lighting where you’ll be seated most of the time.

4. Use Smart Technology To Get The Best Of Both Worlds

Smart bulbs have opened a whole new world of colour lighting. With bulbs you can control from your phone, you’ll be able to set lights to change between cool and warm, so think about setting wake up routines that help you get out of bed more easily, or consider setting up different parameters based on what you most need the light for – game night is different from movie night!