How to Choose the Right Lighting for Home Offices

If you’re lucky enough to be able to work from home you need great willpower, minimal distractions and a dedicated workspace. We can’t help with the willpower, but we can help you turn a spare room or cupboard under the stairs into a workspace that will work for you. When designing a home office there are many design factors to consider which will impact your productivity as well as your health and wellbeing. Lighting is a crucial element of design, especially for an office whether you’re computer based or not. 

Basic Principles 

There are basic formulas that tell you how much light a room needs, for example a kitchen or workspace generally needs 1.5 watts of light for each square foot of space. So if a room measures eight foot by ten foot, or 80 square feet, it should have about 120 watts of light. The formula changes for living and sleeping areas and of course personal preference comes into play too. 

There are three types of lighting: general, accent and task. General lighting is overhead light that fills the room. Accent lighting is spotlights or lamps which highlight a particular space or object for style and ambience. Task lighting is spotlights or lamps which aid a task, such as the led lights affixed to kitchen cupboards to illuminate the work surface. The light in a room should be spread between the three types of lights in different proportions and at different heights to create layers of light. 

What Light to Use? 

Working under the glare of overhead lights is uncomfortable on your eyes and creates an unpleasant atmosphere. Diffuse ambient light with upward-shining floor lamps and shades that will illuminate the whole room without casting shadows and glare. Use task lamps on your desk for computer work, filing or crafting. An adjustable or articulated lamp will provide lamp exactly where you need it, and they are stylish too! Accent lights such as ‘hidden’ lights under bookshelves give an office flair and cast a soft even light on your desktop. 

Natural Light

Of course natural light is the best light to work in and if you have nice big window, positioning your desk in front of it will give you a view too! A desk in front of a window will also ensure that sunlight isn’t glaring off your computer screen. Planning your light fixtures to complement the natural light the room gets throughout the day, will mean you won’t be blinded by brightness or sat in the dark at any point of the day. 

Talk to us about what lighting you’d like in your home office, we can add any lighting detail you desire to your custom built bespoke furniture set. Visit one of our showrooms or call 01603 417577 to book a free design visit. 

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