Lighting a Scandinavian home through autumn and winter

Sweden loses light fast in autumn. By the end of October, Örebro has around eight hours of daylight. The lamp you put on your side table in September will be on for five or six hours every evening until March. That is worth thinking about more carefully than most people do when they order a lamp online.

Colour temperature: the number that matters most ¶

Bulb packaging shows colour temperature in Kelvin. 2700K is warm white, close to the colour of a candle. 4000K is cool white, close to daylight. For a living room or bedroom used in the evening, 2700K is almost always the right choice. 4000K works in a kitchen or a home office where you need to see clearly, but it makes a sitting room feel like a waiting room.

The lamps we stock are sold without bulbs, and the product pages state the maximum wattage and the fitting type (E27 or E14). We recommend a 4-6W LED at 2700K for table lamps with a linen shade. It gives enough light to read by without washing out the warmth of the shade.

Shade material and light diffusion ¶

A linen shade diffuses light softly and adds a slight warm cast of its own. An opaque ceramic or metal shade throws light downward and creates a pool of light rather than a glow. Both are useful, but they do different things.

The Stenlykta bordslamp has an unbleached linen shade on a steel frame. At 2700K it produces a warm, even glow that works well as a reading lamp or as ambient light on a shelf. The base is stoneware, which absorbs some of the light from below and keeps the lower half of the room darker. Useful if you want to wind down in the evening.

How many lamps does a room actually need ¶

A common mistake is relying on one ceiling light and one table lamp. In a Swedish winter, that combination usually feels either too bright or too dim depending on which one is on. Three light sources at different heights. A ceiling pendant, a table lamp, and a floor lamp or candle. Give you enough flexibility to adjust the mood without rewiring anything.

Candle holders and lanterns count. A lantern on a windowsill or a cluster of pillar candles on a tray adds light at the lowest level of the room, which is the warmest and most calming. The black steel lanterns in the autumn range are designed for exactly this use.

Lighting is one of those things where the right choice is very personal. If you want to describe your room and what you are trying to achieve, get in touch and we will suggest something specific.