5 Steps to Choose Lighting for a Small Space

Once a famous designer, Jonathan Adler said if he was designing a room on the sun, he’d still put lighting on it. Lighting is incredibly important to the ambiance, feel and style of the home.

A small space only needs a few lights, right? Well, yes and no. I have had made the mistakes of choosing correct lighting that wasn’t bright enough, was too small and was poorly made. Here’s what I’ve learned about choosing lighting for a small space.

• Like many small spaces, If you have an open concept space, lighting doesn’t have to match, but to create continuity, choose lighting with either the same finish or the same style. If you want to go with different finishes, say bronze and silvery, make sure the style is the same.

• Just because the room is small, it's not necessary you need a small overhead light. In fact, even in small rooms, a small overhead light is still going to look small. The rule of thumb is this: Measure the length and width of the room. Add the two numbers together and convert the total into inches. If your room is 10 feet by 12 feet, the ceiling fixture should be 22 inches wide. That’s bigger than you thought, right

• Speaking of calculations, make sure you allow for enough headroom. Here’s some guidance. Make sure that there is at least 7′ of clearance between the light and the floor. So, you’ll probably want to choose flush mount light fixtures for most areas. And don’t worry, flush mount fixtures have gotten way better in the last few years. Say goodbye to the boob light of yesteryear!

• If you live in a warm climate, consider a ceiling fan for both lighting and cooling. In a small space, items that can do double-duty are incredibly valuable. You might not have room for a floor lamp or floor fan.

• Check out your wattage and/or lumens Wattage of the light is the amount of energy it takes to produce a certain amount of light. The higher the wattage, the brighter the light, and the more power it requires. Lumens is the measurement of total light output, aka, the brightness of the bulb. More lumens means it’s a brighter light; fewer lumens means it’s a dimmer light. Depending on your fixture, the product information should tell you whether you’ll have a lower light fixture– 60 watts or 800 lumens or a high light fixture– 75 watts or 1,600 lumens. Now, with LED fixtures and bulbs many companies are turning to lumens, so make sure you remember an LED bulb that says it’s only 60 watts will look much brighter than an incandescent bulb. This is important because if you’re picking fixtures for an office, you’ll want a light that produces much more light than say, a bedroom, so choose wisely!

Do share your ideas about lighting a small home. Let me about them in the comments!