Lighting Guide
Most lighting disappointments come down to three things nobody mentions on the box: how warm the light is, how much of it there is, and whether the fitting is built for where you want to put it. This guide covers those, plus the practical questions we get asked most. If you read nothing else, read the first section.
Warm or cool: the number that matters most
Every LED has a color temperature, written in kelvin (K). Lower is warmer and more yellow; higher is whiter and bluer. For a home, the useful range is narrow:
| Kelvin | What it looks like | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| 2200K to 2700K | Candle to old incandescent bulb, golden | Living rooms, bedrooms, dining, patios, anywhere you sit in the evening |
| 3000K | Warm white, still soft | Kitchens, hallways, bathrooms, reading lamps |
| 4000K | Neutral white | Task lighting, garages, workshops |
| 5000K and up | Cool, blue-white, like daylight or an office | Rarely right at home; avoid for anything you relax under |
When a lamp offers a choice, warm white (around 3000K) is the safe default and 2700K is the cozy one. Cool white (6000K) will make a living room feel like a waiting room. Where a fitting takes a replaceable bulb, the product page says so and you choose the temperature when you buy the bulb; where the LED is built in, the temperature is fixed or switchable, and the page lists the options.
How bright: lumens, not watts
Watts measure power used, not light produced, and LEDs use very little power. Look for lumens instead. Rough guides: a bedside or accent lamp wants 200 to 400 lumens; a reading lamp 400 to 800; a table or floor lamp lighting a corner 600 to 1,000; a pendant over a dining table 800 to 1,500 in total; a porch or path light 100 to 300 per fitting is plenty, because outdoor light is seen against darkness. Dimmable is worth having on anything in a living or dining room, because the right level at 7pm is not the right level at 11pm.
Plug, USB, hardwired or solar
Plug-in fittings come with a US plug and a switch on the cord or the lamp; they go anywhere there is a socket. USB and rechargeable lamps run off a battery and charge from any USB port; they are the ones to pick for a shelf, a windowsill or a bedside with no socket nearby, and most run for several evenings between charges. Hardwired fittings, which include most wall sconces and all ceiling pendants, connect to household wiring at the mounting point and have no plug. If you are not confident with electrical work, use a licensed electrician; it is usually a short job if a circuit is already there. Solar fittings need no wiring at all, but they need sun. Several hours of direct light a day fills the battery; a north-facing wall or a spot under a tree will give you a dim, short evening.
Outdoor: read the IP rating
An IP rating tells you how well a fitting keeps out dust and water. The second digit is the one to check. IP44 handles rain and splashes and is fine under a porch roof or on a sheltered wall. IP65 handles rain from any direction and jets of water, so it can sit on an exposed wall, a fence or a path. IP67 survives brief submersion. Nothing we sell is meant to live underwater. Some pieces are described as moisture resistant rather than weatherproof; those belong on a covered patio, not out in the open, and the product page says which is which.
Two more outdoor notes. String lights are rated by the bulbs and the cord separately; shatterproof bulbs are worth the small premium anywhere wind or children are involved. And solar lights of every brand run shorter in winter, when the days are short and the sun is low. That is physics, not a fault.
Where to put it
Pendants over a table: hang the bottom of the shade 30 to 36 inches (75 to 90cm) above the tabletop. Lower looks intimate but blocks faces; higher loses the effect. For a rectangular table, one long fitting or two or three small pendants spaced evenly works better than one in the middle. The shade should be roughly 12 inches (30cm) narrower than the table on each side.
Pendants in an open room: keep the bottom edge at least 7 feet (2.1m) above the floor so nobody walks into it. Over a kitchen island, 30 to 36 inches above the counter, same as a table.
Wall sconces: mount them at about eye height, 60 to 66 inches (150 to 170cm) from the floor to the center of the fitting. Either side of a mirror, keep them 36 to 40 inches apart so the light falls on the face rather than the wall. Up-and-down sconces on an exterior wall look best at the same height on both sides of a door.
Table lamps: when you are seated beside the lamp, the bottom of the shade should be at about eye level, so the bulb is hidden. A sofa side table usually wants a lamp 24 to 30 inches tall in total; a bedside table 20 to 26 inches, or lower for a small night light.
Floor lamps: stand them beside seating, not behind it, with the shade just above head height when seated. Corner lamps that wash the wall are for atmosphere rather than reading; pair them with a task lamp.
String lights: hang them with a little slack rather than pulled taut, anchored every 6 to 10 feet. A zig-zag across a patio gives more even light than a single straight run.
Bulbs and fittings
Where a bulb is needed and not included, the product page names the socket, usually E26 in the United States (E27 is the same size in metric markets and fits the same lamps). Choose an LED bulb in the temperature you want, dimmable if the lamp is on a dimmer, and never exceed the wattage printed inside the fitting. A shade that sits close to the bulb wants a low-heat LED, not a halogen.
Sizing a fitting to a room
A quick rule for a single central pendant or chandelier: add the room's length and width in feet, and the result in inches is a sensible diameter. A 12 by 14 foot room suits a fitting around 26 inches across. Over a table, ignore the room and size to the table as above. Two smaller fittings almost always look better than one that is too large.
Still not sure whether a piece will work where you want it? Email info@lumenandloam.store with a photo of the spot and the product you are looking at, and we will tell you plainly whether it suits, including when the honest answer is a different lamp.