So, I’ve been looking at a lot of bedroom designs since I’m moving to a new apartment soon, and I’ve learned that lighting plays a crucial role in setting the “mood” of a room. My goal as of right now is to create a cozy, and relaxing space as well as that’s optimal for working/studying in general. Hopefully using smart bulbs that can vary color temperature will help acheive this goal.
3 Basic Types of Lighting
- Ambient Lighting / General Lighting
- Task Lighting
- Accent Lighting
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the primary source of light in your room, creating an overall illumination. For a cozy bedroom, you might want to opt for a soft, warm white light (around 2700K to 3000K). Smart bulbs are excellent for this, as they allow you to adjust the color temperature and brightness according to your needs. For instance, you can set a warm tone for relaxing evenings and a cooler tone (around 4000K to 5000K) for daytime activities or work.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is essential for activities like reading, studying, or working. Adjustable desk lamps with a focused beam of light are ideal for a study area. Smart desk lamps with adjustable brightness and color temperature can provide the optimal light for concentration without straining your eyes. I should use a cooler temperature light (around 4000K to 5000K) for these tasks to help keep you alert and focused.
Accent Lighting
Adds depth and dimension to the room. Highlights artwork, features, or other decorative elements. They can be placed behind headboards, under shelves, or along the baseboards to create a soft, ambient glow that enhances the coziness of the room. I’m even thinking some tracklights, maybe?; gotta do the electrical wiring and screwing tho which is not really rental friendly, but still possible in my opinion (have found some ways to fill the holes back when the lease ends, lol).
Glare
Glare can be uncomfortable and distracting, especially when trying to relax or concentrate. I need to be careful with where I put the track lighting if I use one. Must position lights so that they do not refelect off shiny surfaces.
Wall Washing
Wall washing is a lighting technique in which vertical, indirect lighting is placed in the ceiling or floor at a wider distance from the wall. This way, the light can fall down on the wall in an equal, uniform way. This provides a “washed” effect of the wall so that shadows and defects disappear from the wall. The distance to be taken into account always depends on the wall washing profile and the specific situation.wall washing can make a narrow space such as a corridor appear larger.
Uplighting
I believe uplighitng is mostly used outdoors. But, it may also help “raise” a ceiling or enhance the architectural structure or interior design features. Use floor lamps with an upward-facing light to illuminate the ceiling, making the room feel taller. Place uplights behind furniture or large plants to create a soft glow and add depth to the room. May not need a spotlight for this since I already have cheap IKEA TÅGARP. Might as well get this one too TÅGARP. But I’m not sure if these twos will do the uplighting job since it’s more like ambient lighting.
Mixing / Layering the Lights
The goal is to create a lighting plan that is balanced. According to chatGPT, it says starts with main light source, and then task lighting and then accent lighting.
Solution for Smart Lights
I think I’ll be using Wyze + Yeelights (Xiao Mi Products) + IKEA with Home Automation on Raspberry Pi 5. IKEA uses Zigbee for communication as far as I know. They also offer remote light swithces; I think this will come in handy for some lightings. I just ordered Raspberry Pi 5 to play around with. I don’t know what’s possible, but I’ll see.