Ferm Living
Illuminate your Home
A guide to Lighting
LET THERE BE LIGHT
Your home is your sanctuary, filled with thoughtfully chosen pieces to make you feel comfortable and at ease. It is therefore important that the lighting in each room is a complement to the space, as light strongly influences how you perceive your surroundings. But when it comes to lighting in the home, it can be tricky to know where to start. Ferm Living have therefore compiled a lighting guide with tips on how you can better illuminate your home.
To help in this task, they sought the advice of lighting expert and designer Marianne Tuxen, who from her atelier in Copenhagen designs bespoke lighting solutions for a wide-ranging array of clients for both private and commercial use. Her designs can be found in locations throughout the world, lighting up homes, churches, museums and libraries in innovative and beautiful ways. She has agreed to lend her expert advice in how you can best utilise lighting to make your home a calm and wonderful space where you want to spend the most of your time.
IDENTIFY YOUR STYLE
The first thing that Marianne does when she’s working with a client is to pinpoint their specific style: “The first thing I do is to visit the space that I’m designing for. If it’s a private home, I immediately consider the taste and style of the person who lives there – do they prefer modern, pared-down interiors, or is there more of an artsy, whimsical atmosphere? That’s the first thing that informs the process, because we as people like to look at beautiful things – a lamp is no exception.”
Finding beauty in one of the most basic needs of a household – to be able to see the space – is an integral part of Marianne’s job. “What is beautiful is different for each of us – that’s why it’s important to define your point of view.” When it comes to lighting up your home, start by defining your own personal style: are you looking for lamps with clean, calm shapes and textures, or would you prefer lighting that makes a statement and intrigues your curiosity? For a lamp with a modern feel, you might gravitate towards simple, structured lines and materials like brass, metal and stone. For a more playful, whimsical vibe, look for irregular, organic shapes and unexpected textures like unglazed ceramics and natural fibres, like wicker or rattan.
“What is beautiful is different for each of us – that’s why it’s important to define your point of view.”
MARIANNE’S GUIDE TO LIGHTBULB NUANCES – THE KELVIN SCALE
• From 2000K to 3000K, the light produced is called “warm white” and ranges from orange to yellow-white in appearance. Most lightbulbs in Scandinavia are 2700K or lower: 2500K – 2200K.
• Colour temperatures between 3100K and 4500K are known as “cool white” or “bright white.” Lightbulbs within this range will emit a more neutral white light and may even have a slightly blue tint. This colour temperature is never used in Scandinavian homes since it is seen as too cold.
• Above 4500K brings us closer to the “daylight” colour temperature of light, which is 6500K – 11000K or more. Light bulbs with colour temperatures of 4500K and above will give off a blue-white light that mimics daylight.
MARIANNE'S TOP TIPS:
- Define your own style
With so many different methods and genres of lighting, it’s important to identify what type of lamp you’re looking for. As with anything in the home, the piece becomes a companion in your everyday routine, and should contribute to making your space feel like you. Take stock of your interiors and try to verbalise how you would best describe it – modern, minimalist, country or vintage, for example? Usually you don’t only have one uniform style – it will be a combination – but these keywords will help to guide you and give you a starting point of what you’re looking for.
- Define the Space
Lighting is integral to how we perceive the shape and dimension of a room. General lighting should illuminate the room at large, while smaller, more concentrated sources of light provide task lighting where needed. Don’t forget to vary the levels of brightness, as well as the height at which the lamps are placed, in order to add a sense of depth.
- Lumen over Watts
Usually we just look at the number of watts when buying a lightbulb. With an old-fashioned light bulb, you knew exactly how bright the light would be from the number of watts, whereas the brightness of modern LED bulbs – while much more energy efficient – can vary from bulb to bulb, even if they have the same wattage. Therefore, try checking up on the lumen (lm) of the bulb you’re purchasing instead, as this will give you a more accurate indication of its brightness. Look for lm on the package – the higher the lumen, the brighter the light. A 60-watt bulb should compare to 800 lm, while a 40-watt bulb should be around 470 lm.
- Make it Cosy
Undoubtedly, the most important thing about lighting up your home is that you create a pleasant, comfortable space that you want to spend your time in. That means different things in different rooms – your office should have concentrated task lighting that’s brighter than the general lighting, whereas the bedroom does best with soft lighting concentrated around the headboard.
