Kids' Room Lighting: Rules to Remember

It is a well-known fact that the quality of lighting affects well-being and performance. This is especially important for a growing organism. Lighting the kids’ room where they spend most of the time should be sufficient and comfortable for the eyes. It makes no sense to rely on sanitary rules and norms written 20 years ago, especially since they are prescribed very vaguely for children’s rooms. It is better to listen to the advice of modern experts.

Natural light in the kids’ room

If it’s so dark in the kids’ room during the day that you need to turn on the lights, it’s bad. Of course, a lot depends on the layout of the apartment and the location of the house. If there is such an opportunity, it is better to equip the nursery in a room with windows facing the south or east side. But if there is no choice, and the windows of the room face west or north, you need to keep the natural light to the maximum: do not put bulky furniture in the way of the sun’s rays, replace the blackout curtains with a light curtain. The best option would be blinds with blackout fabric, allowing you to adjust the level of illumination.

Window in the kids’ room

In rooms with low natural light, the deficit of light can be compensated by painting walls and ceilings with reflective paint. Choose soft, pleasing to the eye light shades – pale green, lemon yellow, etc.

Artificial lighting in the kids’ room

The basic rule, which some people forget for some reason, is that the light from artificial sources should be uniform and fill the entire space of the kids’ room, and not stumble on obstacles, creating long shadows. The location of the light sources in one way or another will depend on the furniture. Therefore, before installing the fixtures, it is better to conduct an experiment – walk around the room with a portable lamp and determine which places the light scatters better.

For full coverage of a children’s room with an area of up to 20 m², one light source is enough. Ideally, this should be one large central luminaire of up to 200 lux (a common unit for measuring illumination). In larger rooms, it makes sense to organize a lighting group from the main and additional light sources (spotlights, spots) located in the corners of the room.

The lamp over the bed

The total illumination of the entire lighting group should also not exceed 200 lux. This applies only to general artificial lighting. Students who do homework will need an additional light source in the workplace. A table lamp with a wide lampshade, which creates a directional light stream, is best suited.

If the child is very small, instead of a table lamp, a low-power night lamp (up to 10 W) will be needed. For outdoor models that are easy to knock over, it is better to prefer wall-mounted ones that are out of the reach of the baby.

Decorative lighting in the kids’ room

An unusual fairy-tale atmosphere in a kid’s room can be created using flexible LED strip lights. They can highlight any element of the decor, such as a picture or a niche in the wall. The main thing is not to go too far with such decor; otherwise, the nursery will turn into a Christmas shop, and you can forget about the calmness and concentration of the child. It is enough to emphasize 1-2 details; more is already superfluous.

Lighting in the nursery should be not only sufficient but also safe. Especially if it is a small baby’s room, who is attracted to everything that is bright and luminous. Therefore:

Choose closed fixtures with plastic or metal lampshades;
If possible, hide all wiring in closed boxes. This is good for both security and design: neat plastic boxes look better than cables throughout the room;
Use plastic covers and plugs for outlets;
Natural and artificial lighting for children

Ideally, the choice of fixtures for the kids’ room is best entrusted to a professional designer who organizes lighting for the overall interior space.

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