Home Lighting: A Simple Guide

Pictured: NEW! Ferm Living Dae pendant light from the Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 collection.

From autumn onwards, we spend most of our waking hours under artificial light. Additional lighting becomes the main source of light in the home, influencing whether a morning feels fresh and an evening feels cosy. With this in mind, we have put together a short guide to planning lighting in your home, explaining what lumens and kelvins mean and which types of lighting work best in the living room, bedroom, and children's room.

A well-lit home consists of three layers:

• Ambient lighting illuminates the entire room (ceiling light, pendant light).
• Task lighting for working or reading is directional.
• Accent or mood lighting creates atmosphere, for example a floor lamp, small table lamps, or light placed in a corner of the room.

Usually, a room has at least two layers of lighting, which can be controlled separately depending on the desired atmosphere.

 

Lumens and Kelvins

Lumen (lm) indicates how much light a light source produces. Too few lumens can make reading and studying uncomfortable, while too many can feel unpleasantly bright in a small room. For LED bulbs, watts measure energy consumption rather than brightness. For comparison, 800 lm is approximately equivalent to the brightness of an old 60 W incandescent bulb.

 

Kelvin (K) indicates the colour temperature:

• 2200–2700 K: warm, yellowish light that feels calming and cosy (suitable for living rooms and bedrooms, especially in the evening).
• 3000–3500 K: neutral white, slightly more energetic but still comfortable (suitable for kitchens, hallways, and general lighting in children's rooms).
• 4000 K and above: cool, bluish daylight that supports concentration but can often feel too clinical at home (more suitable for offices or workplaces).
  
  

In addition to affecting the atmosphere, colour temperature also influences how we perceive colours. Warm light sources bring out warm tones more strongly, making them appear more intense while making cooler tones look greyer. From around 3500 K upwards, warm tones become more muted and cool colours appear more vivid.

 

ELKE Mööbel showroom manager Eve-Lii Sandre recommends favouring warm light (2700–3000 K) at home and increasing brightness through several light sources rather than relying on a single bright fixture. "When general lighting is distributed between several sources and the overall tone remains warm, the room feels much calmer and more thoughtfully designed than when relying on one very bright and cool ceiling light," says Sandre. "An exception is areas where concentration is needed, such as a study corner in a child's room or a home office, where slightly more neutral and brighter light can help maintain focus."


Pictured: Muuto adjustable wall light Dedicate is suitable for task lighting, both next to the bed and in a reading corner.

Living room: multiple light sources and a statement floor lamp

The living room is used for reading, relaxing, and entertaining guests, so the lighting needs to be flexible. Warm light, dimmable ambient lighting, and at least one separate mood light are all good choices.

The easiest way to change the character of a room is to add a larger floor lamp to an empty corner or next to the sofa. This allows the lamp to serve a decorative purpose during the day while providing light in the evening.

• Ferm Living Dae features an organic translucent shade that diffuses light into a warm glow.
• Ferm Living Arum Arched combines an asymmetrical curved metal structure with a marble base, balancing visual lightness with the weight of the material.
• Muuto Contra features a counterweight mechanism, adjustable functionality, and an architectural character.

 

Pictured: Muuto Contra floor lamp from the Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 collection.

Pictured: Top, Ferm Living Dae floor lamp; bottom left, various Ferm Living lights; and bottom right, Ferm Living Arum Arched floor lamp.

 

Bedroom: soft light and reading light

The goal in the bedroom is not to fill the room with bright light. This is a space for winding down before sleep, so warm, diffused lighting is ideal, combined with directed reading light beside the bed that does not disturb the other person.

• The material of the shade can soften the light; for example, textiles and paper create a softer glow.
• For reading, task lights or bedside lamps work well next to the bed. Two similar lights on either side create a calm sense of symmetry.

 

Pictured: New Works New Works Margin light in the upper image and various New Works lights in the lower image.

Pictured: HAY Paper Shade and HAY Nelson pendant lights, both of which create soft and diffused light in the bedroom.

Pictured: Pendant lights can also be used beside the bed. On the left, Louis Poulsen VL 56 pendant light; on the right, Audo Copenhagen TR Bulb pendant light.


Things to keep in mind when lighting a bedroom

• There should ideally be a separate reading or task light beside the bed.
• When choosing a pendant light, consider a material that softens the light.
• Two similar lights on either side of the bed create a calm sense of symmetry.

 

Children's room: playful lighting for day and evening

Children's rooms are used for both playing and studying, while in the evening the lighting should help create a calmer atmosphere. A neutral 3000–3500 K tone works well for general lighting, complemented by a directional desk light for studying and a soft, diffused glow beside the bed.

 

Ferm Living offers a variety of children's lighting, all with a playful character, including options suitable for both night-time lighting and reading.

Pictured: Ferm Living Poesie wall light and a selection of children's lighting

The choice of lighting is extensive, and when planning the lighting in your home, it is worth thinking less about individual fixtures and more about the overall composition. Which light sources work well together? What are their height, direction, and light intensity? Which materials complement the rest of the interior?

We recommend starting with a few simple steps:

1. Are there at least two layers of lighting in the room?
2. Is the evening colour temperature 2700–3000 K?
3. Can the brightness be adjusted?

Often, simply changing a bulb and adding one extra lamp to a darker corner can make a home feel cosier.

If you would like to explore the lighting options and see them in person, visit the ELKE Mööbel showroom and we will be happy to help you find the right solution!