Home lighting simplified: shop for light bulbs like a pro

Are you feeling confused every time you need to buy a replacement light bulb? Are you not sure how to convert lumens to watts?

In this post, you will learn everything you will need to confidently stroll the light bulb aisle at your local home improvement store and bring home the exact light bulb your space needs.

Next, I will provide light bulb recommendations for specific rooms and specific lighting needs.

When shopping for light bulbs, first you need to understand and keep in mind these two measurements: Kelvins and Lumens.

Next, you will need to understand how Lumens compare to Watts.

Lumens vs Watts

Let begin with Lumen and how they compare to Watts.

Before LED lights were invented, you could tell both the energy used and the light output of the light bulb, by looking at watts measure.

The light bulbs usually came in 40, 60,75, and 100 watts. At that time, the more energy the light bulb used, the more light output it provided. However, after LED lights were introduced to the market, watts became irrelevant as a measure of light output.

So now, when you need to know the brightness of the light bulb, look for lumens number: the higher the lumens the higher the light output.

Look at Lumens number to tell how bright the lightbulb will be.

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Therefore, if you are used to thinking of watts as both the measurement of the energy used and light output measure, seeing an 8 watt light bulb is confusing because it doesn’t tell you anything about the brightness of the light bulb.

If you are old enough to remember looking at Watts to guide your light bulb selections, then this chart will help you understand how lumens correlate to the traditional watts measurement.

However, if you are not familiar with watts, this chart won’t tell you much.

In that case, what do you need to know regarding lumens when you are shopping for home lighting? Do not go too bright, stay in the range of 700 to 1100 lumens and your eyes will thank you.

Kelvins

When you hear “Kelvins” think of color tones of the emitted light or simply put color temperature.

When you hear Kelvins, think light temperature

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I recommend that your lights are between 2700 and 4000 Kelvins. In that range, the light will be soft white to daylight white and won’t have the yellow or bluish tint.

The mistake that people often make is that they go past 4000 Kelvins and their light feels too crisp and creates that “operating room” feeling.

Light bulb recommendations for specific rooms

Here are my light bulb recommendations for specific rooms. Before buying however, I recommend that you double check if that’s the brightness you need (see lumen number) and light temperature (see Kelvins) and increase or decrease accordingly.

Light bulb for Bathroom

Check out this post Complete Bathroom Lighting Guide for Your Design Success for more help on designing your bathroom lighting.

Light Bulbs for Bedrooms

Light Bulbs for Dining Rooms

Light Bulbs for Kitchens

If you would like more information about kitchen island lighting design, check out this post Kitchen Island Lighting Resource (technical tips)

Light Bulbs for Family Room

Light Bulbs for Hallways & Entryways

Light Bulbs for Home Office

Light Bulbs for Garages

Light Bulbs for Craft Rooms and Hobbies

If you want to fine-tune your light bulb selection you might find this tool useful.

Your specific lighting needs solved!

I need extra bright light

Garage or craft shops would be a perfect space for extra bright lights. I do not recommend using extra bright light bulbs in your living space.

These light bulbs would provide extra brightness.

I need warm sparkling light

These light bulbs would be a great option for light fixture with clear glass covers where you can see the light bulb.

Below is an example of a light fixture that would use those bulbs.

I need simply to light a space

These light bulbs would be a simple “go to” solution for a light replacement.

I need to highlight a space or object

The light bulbs listed below would be a good option for illuminating art or architectural details, such as a brick wall or a fireplace mental.

They would also work to replace a bulb in a track lighting fixture.

You can also use the lights specified below for house plants that need extra light in the winter.

I need soft comfortable light

Frequently Asked Questions

If you need more help choosing light bulbs for your specific needs, check out this easy-to-use tool.

I hope you found this post useful and were able to choose the lightbulb you needed. If we can help you with your other design needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.