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

What's the difference betwen Watts & Lumens? How do they compare?

8/17/2022

Chart outlining watts vs lumens

It can be challenging to determine the 'wattage' of LED lights. When incandescent light bulbs dominated the lighting market, it was easy to tell how 'bright' a bulb would be.

When using LED Lighting, we use the term lumens which is the power or strength of the light. A Lumen (lm) is the International Standard unit that shows the total amount of visible light emitted from a source. Like Watts, Lumens are a standard measurement within the lighting industry and can be found on the box of most light bulbs.

The next time you purchase a light bulb, remember to look for both Wattage & Lumens. Watts show the amount of power used & lumens show the brigthness of a bulb. The best combo to look for is:

LOW WATT & HIGH LUMENS = BRIGHT, ENERGY SAVING BULBS.

We understand it's tough if you are switching out from Incandescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs, we need to know the comparable light values.

Here's a quick and easy chart to get you started!

What's the difference between watts & lumens comparison chart.

Need to know how to space your recessed lighting & how many recessed lights do you need?
Be sure to check out my most popular blog post.
We provide a simple formula to help you layout your recessed lighting!

Happy designing!

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10 Designer tips to brighten up your home for Summer.

6/22/2022

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Here on the West Coast of BC, Canada, we have had a very wet, cold Spring, but now that Summer is here - let's revamp our homes for the bright, sunshiny look of Summer. Here are 10 tips that allow you to spruce up your home for the toasty Summer months.

Flowers! Spring flowers in particular such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and even a potted crocus provide a touch of sunshine to your room. Try using a brightly coloured pot or planter in shades of Kelly green, sunshine yellow or bright fuchsia.
Throw blankets and pillows. Put away the heavy wool throw blankets and replace with lighter cotton ones. Heavy velvet pillows can be replaced with fresh linen ones. Simply swap out the covers and you can use the same inserts.
Rugs. if you happen to have a dark heavy patterned rug, try rolling that up and replacing it with a lighter hemp or jute rug. You'll be amazed at the difference makes in the room. Once Fall rolls around tuck the lightweight rugs away. You can even layer a lighter rug over top of a darker rug, just ensure that they are quite thin and that they are placed in an area out of the 'traffic zones' so you won't trip over them.
Floral prints. It may not sound ground-breaking but adding florals in your draperies, planters or pillows helps to freshen up the room.

Jute rug, white chair, floral print pillow, free floating mantle by Jil McDonald of Jil Sonia Interiors

White linen floral pillow, jute rug living room design by Jil Sonia Interiors

5. Paint. White or off-white walls have predominated the interior design scene for the last five years. Believe it or not trends are coming around to the warmer tones. Try a darker cream or light beige to add this latest trend into your décor.

6. Accessories. Lightweight Wicker baskets in natural tones add a light and airy feeling to your room.

7. Wallpaper: Have you tried the new peel and stick wallpaper? Once you get your plumb line set it's a fairly easy way to add a accent wall in your home. Try a soothing Lake mural or a floral look. You can even purchase large flower graphics that peel and stick on to the walls for a fun look.

lavender wallpaper jil Sonia accessories interior designs

photo by Dorné Marting

8. Entry. Why not add a fresh bold colour to your entry area? Make a great first impression! Even one wall in a bright, fun colour will add a fun look to your foyer. Try coral or even a light green to introduce a happy Summer look into your home for 2022. Ensure that the colour that you choose is repeated elsewhere in the other rooms in your home, so it doesn't look out of place.

9. Window treatments. Either add or replace your existing curtains with breezy white linen draperies on either side of your window. Ensure you place the window treatments as close to the ceiling as possible to visually extend the height of the ceiling.

 10.Fragrance: Try a citrus or floral scented candle. The light scent will drift throughout the home, and you’ll be amazed how fresh your whole home feels.

Let me know if you need help updating your home, I'd be happy to help!

interior design how to update home for Summer Jil Sonia Interior Designs

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What's the difference between Watts & Lumens?

5/15/2021

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Are you wondering what's the difference between lumens and wattage? Look no further!

Virtual interior design Jil Sonia McDonald Canada

Lumens measure the total light sent out by the light bulb.
Watts measure the amount of power used by the bulb.
So watts do not tell you how bright the bulb is - but Lumens do.

However, since we are all used to discussing wattage often people use 'wattage' as their term denoting the brightness of a bulb, rather than 'lumens'.

Let me know if you have any other lighting questions, I'd be happy to help.
Here's a great post showing "How many recessed lights do I need?"

Here's a helpful Incandescent to LED conversion chart, to help you when selecting a new LED light bulb.

Happy Lighting!

Watts to lumens conversion light bulb chart

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How do I calculate the correct width of my dining room light?

9/13/2018

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Would you like a few quick tips on how to calculate the correct size chandelier or pendant light for over your dining room table?
Here we go!

dining room glass table, square, white chairs, sputnik pendant light

Interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors

In general:
Add the width and length of your dining room ie. 10' + 14' = 24.
We need a light approximately 24" wide!

Or here are a few general dining room table sizes, and the width of lights that would complement the table nicely.

Oval table 42" long - light should be 18-20" wide.
Oval table 48" long - light should be 24" wide.

Square tables? Just take the table size and subtract 12" off each side.
ie. 42" sq. table. -12" and -12" = 18" wide light.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Of course there are variables, but this will get you in the right ballpark!

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Recessed lighting spacing - How many recessed can lights do I need? How far apart do I place my can lights?

6/9/2017

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how far apart do I place my recessed lights? Jil Sonia Interiors

Recessed Lighting plan Placement guide. Jil Sonia Interior Designs

I've been an interior designer for over 16 years now and I've realize good lighting placement is key for any space, especially so for recessed lighting - (we call them pot lights in Canada - no - not those sort of lights!). I've written this handy post to show you how it's done!
(We'll talk about bathroom lighting in another post!).

Note: Lumens measure the total light sent out by the light bulb.
Watts measure the amount of power used by the bulb.
So watts do not tell you how bright the bulb is - but Lumens do.

However, since we are all use to discussing wattage, often people use 'wattage' as their term denoting the brightness of a bulb, rather than 'lumens'. For this article we'll use the term "wattage" as most people are more familiar with that term.

recessed lighting Interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors Maple Ridge

Interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors, Photos by Tracey Ayton-Edwards.

Recessed can lighting design layout:

Part A: How many pot / recessed / can lights do I need?

Step 1: Measure the length x width of the room. Now you have the area or total square footage of your room. ie. 12' x 20' = 240' square feet.

Step 2: Multiply the area x 1.5 to get your total wattage needed. (Note in some areas where you need a lot of light, or have a very high ceiling multiply by 3). If the lights will be installed in a ceiling taller than 16-feet, you may also want to use PAR type light bulbs. They have a tighter beam control which will get more of the light down from the ceiling to the surface plane. ie. 240 s.f. x 1.5 = 360.
Step 3: Total wattage, divided by the bulb wattage you plan to use, ie. ( 40 watt, 60 watt, 75 watt, 100 watt etc.) = amount of total recessed lights you will need. ie. 360 divided by 60 = 6

Formula: total sq. footage x 1.5 = total wattage needed. Total wattage divided by 60 watts (or whichever wattage you select) = total amount of recessed can lights.
Example: 240 square foot room x 1.5 = 360 divided by 60 (the bulb wattage I'd like to use) = 6 recessed lights needed.

Part B: Draw up a ceiling diagram (reflected ceiling plan) showing the amount of can lights you need (Part A formula). The cans / pots / recessed lights should be evenly distributed around the room, usually they are in rows with an equal number of cans in each row. Here's a great example of a kitchen lighting layout, the yellow dots show the recessed lights, the red dots show the pendant lights:

Recessed can lighting spacing - How many recessed lights do I need? How far apart do I place my lights?

Recessed Lighting Spacing

Now we will calculate the spacing between each recessed light.

Part C: Light spacing in a row:

Step 1: Pick a starting point, where do you want your most important can light placed? Then arrange all the lights an equal distance from that light.
Or, if you want general lighting, start in the middle and work outwards.
Step 2: Measure the length of the room in feet.
Step 3: Room length divided by # of lights in that row = distance between light units in that row. Example: 20' long room divided by 3 cans = 7'6" between each light, note see step 4.
Step 4: Calculating distance of lights from walls: (Note: The can lights near the wall are 1/2 the measurement between the other can lights distance. Keep each light close to 3 feet away from the walls or corners - we don't want to cast shadows!) Don't install recessed lighting with equal spacing between the lights and the walls. If you do, you end up with bright spots between the lights and dark edges.

Step 5: Now do the same for the width of the room.

Electrical can recessed plan layout Jil Sonia interior designs, Abbotsford, BC lighting calculation

Recessed Electrical plan layout example - Jil Sonia Interior Designs

Part D: Task Lighting Layout:
Task lighting is extra lighting used to highlight spaces where you need either extra light, or specialized lighting throughout the home. You may want to add under cabinet lighting, or pendant lights over the island in the kitchen, to bring the lighting closer to the work area.

How to calculate the distance and spacing for task lighting:

Step 1: Determine the distance from the ceiling down to the surface you wish to light, i.e.. the floor or a countertop.
Step 2: Divide this distance by 4 to obtain the distance from the wall to the first light unit. I.e.. 8' ceiling lights should be placed two feet away from the wall.

Part E: Wall washers recessed lighting layout: (lighting that shines down onto a wall in order to highlight art or a wall feature)

Step 1: The rule for installing wall wash recessed fixtures is approx. 1.5' to 3' away from the wall.
Step 2: Fixed lights can be placed closer to the wall.
Step 3: Place adjustable lights farther away from the wall. The optimal aiming angle to minimize glare is 30-degrees from the ceiling, that way we avoid glare.
Step 4: Space wall wash fixtures the same distance from each other.
Step 5: A good rule of thumb is that your accent lighting should be 3 times brighter than the ambient light in the room. This is useful for living rooms, hallways and dens/offices.

Part F: Beam Spread
There are generally 2 types of recessed lights - Spot lights and Flood lights.
Spot lights have a narrow beam of light casting light to a focused area, usually these are used to highlighting art or important design elements in the room. They cast beams 45 degrees or less.
Flood lights case a wider beam on the floor area and are used for lighting larger, more general areas. They cast beams up to 120 degrees.

Lighting Beam calculation: Angle of beam x 0.18 x ceiling height = Beam spread in inches.
Example: 60 degrees x 0.18 x 10' ceiling height = 108" divided by 12 = 9' wide beam spread.
To create overlapping beams of light for ambience, make sure that your beam spread diameter is equal to or greater than the distance between light sources fixtures.

Recessed lighting design & installation:
Now that the recessed lighting placement locations are determined, we need to find out if they can be installed in these locations. Use a stud finder to determine where the ceiling joist are located. You might have to adjust placement locations to avoid hitting a ceiling joist. It's always best to pre plan the lighting design before your renovation or new build in your home.

Please remember to contact your electrician before making any electrical decisions.