Lux explained simply, and what it changes in your decor

Place a lux meter, or a measuring app on your phone, at table height and facing the source: the value shown is the lux. Around 150 to 200 lux, a living room works well in the evening. Below 50 lux, you can no longer read without strain. This figure replaces every debate about watts.

What is the definition of lux?

Lux measures the light that actually reaches a surface, whereas lumen measures what the source produces. One lumen spread over one square metre gives one lux. That is why the same bulb does not light a narrow hallway and a large living room in the same way.

A simple definition of lux, in one sentence

One lumen landing on one square metre of floor or wall is one lux. Distance does the rest: doubling the distance divides the received light by four. A wall light 40 cm from a worktop therefore sends far more useful light than a ceiling fixture three metres above, at equal power.

In a living room, this rule explains why a single overhead point rarely carries the room: the floor stays grey while the shade dazzles. Spreading the light across three softer sources gives a safer result, and that is what the light fixtures in our collection allow when they are chosen to complement one another.

Lux or lumen: what is the difference?

Lumen describes what the bulb emits, lux what the room receives. A model rated at 800 lumens will light a bedside table very well and a 30 m² living room very poorly. The detail of this conversion is explained in our article on the difference between lux and lumens.

• Lumen (lm): what the source sends out, printed on the packaging.
• Lux (lx): what arrives where you look, read or work.
• Distance: every extra metre removes useful light without changing the rated power.
• Light surface: a white wall reflects light, a dark wall absorbs it.

What do 50 lux and 300 lux mean, and how many lux at night?

50 lux is the light of late afternoon near a window: you can make out shapes, you cannot read. 300 lux is a crisp worktop, with no hard shadow under your hand. At night, outdoors, you drop below 20 lux as soon as you move away from a street lamp.

How many lux at night, outdoors and at home?

On the street, a lamp washes the road with a few dozen lux; three metres further on, on the pavement, almost nothing remains. At home, the same logic applies: a hallway night light showing 5 lux is enough to move around, and strains the eyes if you linger there to read.

What does 300 lux mean in a living space?

300 lux on the table is a dinner where you see what is on your plate without getting light in your eyes. A pendant lowered to 75 cm above the surface places the flux where the plates are, not on people's heads. The rest of the living room can stay around 100 lux: the gap creates depth.

And is 50 lux enough to read?

No, not to read: you need about six times more on the page. 50 lux suits circulation, a hallway, a passage to the kitchen. To read in bed without waking the other person, an adjustable wall light 40 cm from the book is enough, without lighting the whole room. That is the principle of successful ambient lighting: few lux everywhere, plenty where the eye is working.

• 5 lux: night light, you move around without bumping into things.
• 50 lux: end of the day, tidying, passing through.
• 100 to 150 lux: living room in the evening, a quiet dinner.
• 300 lux: dining table, worktop, bathroom mirror.

How many lux for each room? The simple method

Start from the use and the surface, never from the fixture. Allow 100 to 150 lux for a living room in the evening, 100 for a bedroom, 200 to 300 in front of a worktop and a bathroom mirror. A dark room needs one more source, not a stronger source.

Light in lux is always measured where the eye works: on the table, the chopping board, the book. A generous ceiling fixture can show a lot of lux at the ceiling and very little on the floor, which is the trap of high rooms. To calculate the lighting needed in an unusual room, it is better to think in zones than in overall volume.

Living room and dining room: light is judged sitting down

Sitting on the sofa, you should see neither a bare bulb nor a reflection on the screen. The light falls on the books, the coffee table, the back wall. A dining room chandelier hung 75 cm above the surface fills this role without lighting the ceiling. The amount of lighting per room is then worked out from the surface, zone by zone.

Bedroom, kitchen and bathroom: lux where the eye works

In a bedroom, an adult bedroom wall light set at shoulder height frees the bedside table and directs the flux onto the page. In the kitchen, a well-placed kitchen fixture lights the worktop without casting the shadow of your hands onto it. In front of a mirror, two side sources are better than one above.

You now know what order of magnitude to aim for, but not yet which model achieves it in your home: take two minutes to describe your room and we will point you to the right wall light.

A simple definition of luxury: why a luxury decor is not an expensive decor

In a room, luxury shows in three things: a finish that is right 40 cm from the eye, light that does not hurt, a socket that can be replaced in ten years. None of that depends on the price tag. An expensive piece badly placed lights badly, a right piece well placed is enough.

The explanation of the word luxury

The word describes a level of care, not a budget: an even gilding along the whole length of an arm, glass without a bubble on the edge, a wall mount that does not move. Choosing among designer light fixtures that age well changes the look of a living room more than one more piece of furniture. On a survey of 98 wall lights from our catalogue on 5 October 2026, 80% state metal, 57% a gold colour and 87% LED technology. The collection of luxury wall lights counted 610 references on the same date.

• Useful light: a beam directed at the book or the worktop, never at the eye.
• The finish: gold, brass or matte black, with clean and even edges.
• The socket: integrated LED, G9, E14 or G4 depending on the model, to change the source without changing the fixture.
• The warranty: from 2 to 5 years depending on the references in the survey.

Why an expensive wall light is not necessarily the right one

Doubt arrives at the finish: gold or black, glass or metal. Choose the location first, then the material. A gold wall light in front of a light wall reflects a warm halo, the same in smoked glass softens it. This hesitation is better settled by looking at real installations: our Google listing gathers verifiable Google reviews and interior photos.

Lighting and lux: from the figure to the fixture

A lux figure translates into three choices: colour temperature, the ability to vary intensity, and the protection rating. The most powerful model is never the answer. What matters is a beam that falls where the eye works, and that adjusts when the room changes use.

Which colour temperature should you choose?

2700 K gives a warm light, that of a filament bulb, ideal where you relax. 3000 K stays warm while remaining readable, often chosen in kitchens. 4000 K and above cool the ambience, to be reserved for work areas. Our guide white or yellow light details this choice room by room.

Dimmer and protection rating: the two details that count

Being able to lower the intensity without changing the bulb changes the life of a living room, and the mention remains rare: on the same survey of 98 wall lights on 5 October 2026, 30% of the survey carries the dimmer mention. The protection rating follows the room: IP20 is enough in a bedroom or living room, IP44 is required near a washbasin where water can splash.

The mistakes that ruin good lighting

• A single source on the ceiling: the floor stays grey and the shade hurts the eyes.
• A light point in the line of sight: from the sofa, a badly aimed wall light creates a stubborn white spot.
• Two colour temperatures on the same wall: 2700 K on one side, 4000 K on the other, and the room looks dull.
• A dark room lit more strongly: a dark wall absorbs, so you multiply the sources instead of raising the power.