Interior Design Blog by Jil Sonia McDonald of Jil Sonia Interior Designs

What are lumens & how many lumens do I need in my home?

10/12/2022

How do I calculate the amount of lumens I need for lighting?

Lighting can be complicated, we get it, it's changed a lot - and we're here to help!

We used to use the term 'wattage' to describe the amount of light that was produced. So if our old incandescent light bulb went out, we looked at the wattage on the bulb and purchased the same wattage, ie. 60 watts, 40 watts, 100 watts, etc.

But, in reality, wattage only tells us the amount of energy used by the light.
What we really needed to know was how much light is produced by a light bulb. Well, that is lumens! Lumens show how 'bright' the bulb is, or how much light it creates.

Here's a handy cheat sheet showing the conversion from the old incandescent bulbs (wattage) to the new LED bulbs (lumens).

how do I know which light bulb to select for my home? Jil sonia interior designs

We have been using incandescent bulbs for well over 100 years. They worked well, but the light bulbs produced a lot of heat and consumed a lot of electricity.

Then they came up with florescent bulbs, remember those corkscrew and long tubular bulbs? They gave off a horrible blue-ish light and often hummed, but they were more energy efficient then incandescents, but something had to change!

What are lumens and how do I calculate the amount of lighting I need for my room?

LED bulbs soon came along, they were energy efficient, at first they too were blue-ish, but throughout the years they have gotten better & more realistic looking.

So as LED light bulbs don't produce heat or use much power, we started using the term lumen, to show the amount of light being provided. But now, we can't use the term wattage to discuss light output, we need to use the word lumen.

Here's another helpful chart to show on average the amount of lumens needed in each room.

how do I calculate the amount of lumens needed for lighting my home?

I hope this helps explain the conversion of wattage to lumens & to show you how to determine how many lumens you need in your home.

Feel free to contact us to create a beautiful lighting plan for your home.

click here to determine your recessed lighting placement

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How to Decorate with Jewel Tones, According to Design Experts

10/5/2022

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how to decorate with jewel tones by jil sonia mcdonald

I was honoured to be asked for my professional opinion about how to decorate with Jewel tones.

I was so excited my client said yes to my suggestion of this gorgeous mustard velvet sofa!

A great place to start experimenting with jewel tones is in the living room, says Jil Sonia McDonald, principal designer at Jil Sonia Interiors in Vancouver. “Perhaps start with your couch in your favorite jewel tone—turquoise, gold, and emerald greens are gorgeous colors to start with,” she explains.

Feel free to read the rest of the amazing blog here!