Journal

Choosing a floor lamp for a reading corner

What makes a floor lamp good for reading: height, lumens, shade, and placement behind the shoulder. A short guide for building a reading corner.

Light for a table you linger at

Light for a dining table you linger at: 2700K, a dimmer from the start, and why candles change the math more than people account for.

When the bulb is the piece

When a pendant's shade is clear, the bulb becomes the piece. How to pick the shape, filament, and lumen count that do the work.

Task lamp or mood lamp

Task lamp or mood lamp: how to tell which job a surface wants, and what goes wrong when you pick the opposite kind.

How high to hang a pendant

How high to hang a pendant over a kitchen island, dining table, or entryway. The numbers that matter and how to adjust for taller ceilings.

How many lumens does a bedroom need?

How many lumens a bedroom needs: the total range, how to split across fixtures, and why dimmable bulbs let one lamp do three jobs.

Warm or cool light for a bedroom?

Warm or cool light in a bedroom? The Kelvin range that helps you sleep, when cooler light works, and why dimmable bulbs cover both.

How to size a pendant light over a dining table

How to size a pendant light over a dining table: shade diameter, hanging height, warm light, and when two small pendants work better than one big one.