Many types of lights provide pleasant room lighting. A very modern and sophisticated way to illuminate a room is to attach LED strips to ceilings, walls, floors or furniture. Other options include various wall and floor lamps as well as ceiling washlights that emit light towards the ceiling. Ceiling lights are a classic choice for room lighting, ranging from several recessed lights to large designer objects with diffuse light. Some pendant luminaires with light on all sides are also ideal for general room lighting.
Room lighting and room illumination
Room light guarantees good basic brightness and, in combination with focused zone light, it creates an ambience of harmony
Our bestsellers for your room lighting
Room lighting - the basis for a sophisticated lighting concept
Room lighting is to a room what butter is to bread - without it, something crucial is missing. This is because uniform room lighting, together with focussed zone lighting for individual areas, creates the right basis for your lighting concept.
Room lighting ensures pleasant ambient brightness and good orientation. It makes it easier for the eye to adapt to areas of different brightness in the room as it equalises large differences in brightness. This reduces eye fatigue. If there is no room lighting and only a reading light is on, for example, the eye is subjected to more strain. Balanced room lighting, on the other hand, creates a cosy atmosphere and thus promotes a sense of well-being.
Various types of lights can be used for general room lighting: from ceiling lights that emit light in all directions to modern ceiling washlights and minimalist LED strips. Speaking of LED: with this sophisticated lighting technology, you can rely on particularly efficient, long-lasting and sustainable interior lighting. In addition to LED lighting, you can also discover lights with conventional sockets for easy bulb replacement. Browse through the range and choose the right room lighting for you!
Different types of luminaires for room lighting
Light distribution: indirect, direct or diffuse?
Indirect room lighting
Indirect lighting is created when the light from the luminaire shines towards the wall or ceiling, is reflected from there and shines diffusely into the room. Indirect light is glare-free and is often perceived by the observer as pleasantly soft and uniform. Ceiling washlights, LED strips or wall luminaires that flood the ceiling are ideal for indirect light distribution.
Direct room lighting
With direct room lighting, the light shines directly into the room with a wide beam angle and illuminates it over a large area. For direct room lighting, recessed or surface-mounted spotlights distributed evenly on the ceiling are suitable. Spotlight strips whose individual flames can be aligned are also suitable.
Diffuse room lighting
If the room light is diffused evenly to all sides, this is diffuse lighting. Luminaires with opal or frosted diffusers are the right choice to ensure that the light does not dazzle. These can be ceiling and wall lamps as well as floor lamps.
Room lighting with modern LED lights
Modern LED lights are in great demand for room lighting. No wonder, as they are extremely energy-efficient. With a large amount of light, significantly less energy is consumed compared to conventional light bulbs. This is particularly useful for room lighting with a high lumen package in order to save a lot of electricity.
Determine the right light colour
The light colour, measured in Kelvin, plays a major role in choosing the right lighting for a room. A warm light colour of 2,700 Kelvin creates a cosy ambience and is ideal for living spaces such as bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms or children's rooms. Light with 4,000 Kelvin or more, on the other hand, has a revitalising and concentration-enhancing effect and is therefore suitable for the kitchen, study or workshop.
If you can't decide on a variant or use a room for a variety of purposes, simply choose a luminaire with an adjustable white light colour (tunable white). You can illuminate a room in a particularly extravagant way with LED lamps with adjustable colours (RGBW). In this way, you can set exciting lighting accents with millions of different colours in your living space and create your own individual room lighting.
Do you prefer efficient LED lights but miss the atmospheric warm dimming of light bulbs? Then dim-to-warm lights are just the thing for you. Because with them, the room light not only appears darker when dimmed down, but also warmer.
Selecting the right amount of light
The brightness of the light emitted by your luminaire depends on the luminous flux. This is specified in lumens (lm). The higher the value, the brighter the light shines. A high amount of light is generally recommended for room lighting. However, the ideal value depends on various factors such as the light distribution, the beam angle, but also the degree of reflection in the room and the ceiling height, and is around 35 to 180 lumens per square metre. For more specific recommendations, please take a look at our Table
Frequently asked questions for our lighting experts
Our store manager will be happy to answer frequently asked questions about room lighting.
Anja Schuh
What is important for good room lighting?
A combination of direct and indirect light is recommended to illuminate rooms in a balanced way. In this way, you benefit from good general lighting for orientation and at the same time create a cosy ambience.
A decisive criterion for pleasant room lighting is the luminous flux, expressed in lumens (lm). This is the total radiant power of a light source. Put simply, the lumen value indicates how much light a light source emits. For room lighting, we generally recommend a high lumen package to ensure sufficiently bright lighting.
The illuminance, expressed in lux (lx), is particularly informative. It describes how much luminous flux falls on a certain surface. For example, if a luminous flux of 1 lm falls evenly on an area of 1 m², the illuminance is 1 lx.
Please note: With the same illuminance, a white room appears brighter than a dark one. This is because light-coloured surfaces reflect light better. The lux value in dark rooms should therefore always be higher than in light-coloured rooms.
However, the optimum lumen or lux value does not only depend on the brightness of the room. There are many other factors that influence this. However, to give you a guideline, we have created a table for you. Here you will find recommendations for illuminance and luminous flux for room lighting.
Recommendations for illuminance and luminous flux for room lighting
| Room |
Recommended illuminance [lx]
|
Recommended luminous flux per square metre [lm/m²] for bright rooms and direct distribution luminaires
|
Recommended luminous flux per square metre [lm/m²] for dark rooms and direct distribution luminaires
|
Recommended luminous flux per square metre [lm/m²] for bright rooms and a combination of direct and indirect luminaires
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | 100 - 200 | 40 - 80 | 60 - 120 | 50 - 100 |
|
Bedroom
|
100 - 200 | 40 - 80 | 60 - 120 | 50 - 100 |
|
Children's room
|
100 - 200 | 40 - 80 | 60 - 120 | 50 - 100 |
|
Dining room
|
300 - 500 | 80 - 130 | 120 - 180 | 100 - 150 |
| Kitchen | 300 - 500 | 80 - 130 | 120 - 180 | 100 - 150 |
| Bathroom | 300 - 500 | 80 - 130 | 120 - 180 | 100 - 150 |
|
Workroom
|
300 - 500 | 80 - 130 | 120 - 180 | 100 - 150 |
|
Hallway
|
50 - 100 | 35 - 70 | 65 - 130 | 50 - 100 |
|
Staircase
|
50 - 100 | 35 - 70 | 65 - 130 | 50 - 100 |
Note: The required lumen package depends on many factors. These include the room dimensions and the reflectance of the ceiling, wall, floor and furnishings. The type of lighting, the efficiency of the luminaires, the desired illuminance, the degree of soiling and the height of the working plane also play a decisive role.
Which room light is recommended for the bathroom?
Special demands are placed on room lighting in the bathroom, as it is exposed to high humidity and possibly splashing water. Therefore, make sure that the lights are splash-proof, especially if you install them near the shower, bathtub or washbasin. The second digit of the IP protection class gives you information about the product's water protection. If this is a 4, the model is splash-proof. Lights labelled IP44, for example, are recommended. The room light in the bathroom should also be particularly bright and neutral white to provide optimum support for daily body and facial care.
Which room lighting is suitable for the children's room?
In children's rooms, it is important to have room lighting that is suitable for children in terms of safety, lighting effect and design. If possible, the light sources should not be within reach of children, as they become very hot, at least if they are incandescent or halogen lamps. LEDs generate significantly less heat, but should still be kept out of the reach of children if possible. Also make sure that the light sources and the lights are robust and unbreakable. The materials of choice here are wood and metal.
As children often play on the floor, it is important that there is sufficient light. Ceiling lights or pendant lights with a high amount of light ensure this. In terms of appearance, playful designs and cheerful colours that children like and put them in a good mood are in demand.