How to Choose the Correct Colour Temperature for Each Part of Your Home

We get up to work at sunrise and get rest at sunset. If you choose the wrong colour temperature, it may hurt your eyes and seriously affect your health. For those who pursue a healthy life, you should think about lighting design at home. It can improve the overall design and atmosphere of your home while improving your life at the same time. If the colour temperature is low, the light is yellow. If the colour temperature is high, the light is white and bright. 3000 K is warm white light, 4000 K is natural white light, and 6000 K is a bright white light.

The left image is white light, known as “cold colour”. The right image is yellow light, known as “warm colour”.

Living room (white light)

It is recommended to use 4000-6000 K white light in the living room, because white light makes people concentrate and it can maintain the transparency of the entire space. Coupled with the yellow light floor lamp and table lamp, they can create a warm atmosphere and increase the layering.

Bedroom (yellow light)

It is recommended to use 2700-3000 K yellow light in the bedroom, because white light will affect sleep quality and interferes our physiological clock. Since the main function of the bedroom is to let us rest, it is best to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere. According to the needs of users, if the bedroom has a combined use as a study room, you can consider a colour temperature of 3000-4000 K, or add a reading lamp in the bedroom. This way, you don’t have to destroy the lighting style of the bedroom.

Study room (white light)

Having a study room at home is not usual in Hong Kong. But if you have one, you should have a uniform, bright and clear 4000-6000 K white light. We also need to pay attention to the orientation of the light source, it is not appropriate to project the light behind the desk and chair because the backlight produces unpleasant shadows and it will make our eyes tiring. There are many table lamps on the market that are suitable for reading and working. If the study room lighting cannot meet your needs, you can also add a light trough or table lamp to supplement the light.

Kitchen (White light)

As we need to pay attention in cooking, we need a white light to help us stay focus. In fact, all kitchen should use white light. As the kitchen tends to be dirty, we can clean it easily with bright light. Under the white light, it can reflect the cleanliness of the kitchen. The colour temperature is recommended to be within 4000-6000 K. The interior designer may suggest adding spotlights under the kitchen cabinet or near the countertop to supplement the lighting. This can increase the aesthetics and make us safer while cooking.

Dining room

The dining table or dining room is usually connected to the living room, but most of the time it will have individual lighting. When food is exposed to yellow light, it has higher colour saturation that can increase appetite. Therefore, yellow light with 3000 K and the CRI index more than 80 is the most ideal situation. Some high-end restaurants will add yellow light (or candlelight) for the table. In addition to improving the lighting effect, it may also increase the appetite of guests.

Bathroom

The bathroom is a relaxing area. Thus, the colour temperature should not be higher than 4000 K. However, most bathrooms use white light. Why? Because you need enough lighting when washing your face! It is not a must to use white light in bathroom. After all, you can add another lighting near the wash basin and the bathtub, such as wall-mounted lamps or spotlights. If the bathroom is not well lit, it may pose a danger for the users. Therefore, we should use white light as the main lighting and to arrange other lighting equipment base on your needs. One thing you should be aware is that as the humidity in the bathroom is high, you should choose the light bulb with good water resistance and heat dissipation.

Conclusion

Don’t just buy a lamp without careful planning. It is recommended to have a thorough consideration and design before making purchase because lighting will affect our health. You can use different lamps combination to enrich the lighting atmosphere at home as well. The content and pictures of this article are provided and uploaded by the author of this column, and do not represent the position of the company. If there are any copyright issues, please contact HKDecoman. HKDecoman, now going global as Deco-Man, is a Hong Kong-based renovation platform which provides professional consultancy services and pioneers in the development of A.I. homeowner-engineer matching. We aim at educating the public about the art of home renovation and have our eyes on transforming the traditional renovation industry, bringing standardisation, transparency, convenience and automation to the business.  

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