Lighting affects how your home looks, feels, and functions. Getting it right takes planning. These are the questions we hear most often from people mid-build or mid-renovation, and what you actually need to know.
As early as possible, ideally alongside your floor plan. The position of windows, doors, cabinetry, and ceiling heights all affect your lighting layout, and decisions made at framing stage are much cheaper than changes made after the walls are closed.
Planning early also opens up options that can't be retrofitted easily: wall lights with in-wall wiring, recessed LED strips, concealed cove lighting, or a linear pendant on a ceiling rose positioned precisely over a kitchen island. Leave it too late and you're working around what's already there.
Most rooms benefit from three layers. Ambient lighting provides general illumination and makes a space usable. Task lighting focuses light where you need it most: above a bench, beside a mirror, over a desk. Accent lighting adds depth and interest, drawing attention to architecture or materials.
In a kitchen, this might mean downlights for ambient, under-cabinet strips for task, and a pendant over the island for both task and atmosphere. In a bathroom, ceiling lighting plus wall lights at the mirror is almost always better than ceiling lighting alone. Layering gives you flexibility and prevents a room from feeling either flat or harsh.
Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin and has a significant effect on how a space feels. As a starting point:
| Temperature | Character | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 2700K | Warm, amber-toned | Bedrooms, living rooms, dining areas |
| 3000K | Warm white, slightly crisper | Kitchens, bathrooms, open-plan spaces |
| 4000K+ | Cool, clinical | Laundries, garages, utility spaces |
For most NZ homes, 2700K to 3000K throughout creates a consistent, warm feel. Your wall colours, floor finishes, and the amount of natural light in a space will all influence how the temperature reads in practice. If you're unsure, test a bulb in the space before committing.
Both, in most cases. Downlights are practical and well suited to general lighting, particularly in low-ceiling spaces or rooms where you want a clean, uncluttered look. On their own, though, they tend to make a room feel over-lit and slightly characterless.
Pendants define zones and add presence. A pendant over a kitchen island, a dining table, or in an entryway signals that space as intentional. The key is proportion: a pendant that's too small gets lost, and one that's too large can overpower the room. As a rough guide, the shade diameter in centimetres should be roughly half the table width in centimetres for a dining pendant.
For kitchens with longer islands, a linear pendant is often a better solution than two or three individual pendants, giving you consistent light distribution and a cleaner architectural line.
Yes, consistently. Dimmers are one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make to a lighting plan. They allow you to adjust light levels to suit the time of day, the mood, or the activity, which makes a significant difference to how a room feels across the full range of daily use.
They also extend the life of LED bulbs and reduce energy consumption. The main thing to confirm is compatibility: not all LED bulbs are dimmable, and not all dimmers work well with LED fittings. Your electrician should check compatibility before installation. Smart dimmers are worth considering if you want scene-setting without extra switches.
IP ratings indicate how well a fitting is protected against moisture and dust. In New Zealand, the requirements vary by zone and exposure level:
- Bathroom Zone 1 (inside the shower or bath) requires IP65 minimum
- Bathroom Zone 2 (within 60cm of the shower or bath) requires IP44 minimum
- Covered outdoor areas with minimal exposure: IP44 is generally sufficient
- Exposed outdoor positions, coastal locations or areas with wind-driven rain: IP65 recommended
Always confirm requirements with your electrician. The Social Light bathroom-rated collection and outdoor lighting range are clearly rated on each product page. For a full breakdown, read our guide to IP ratings.
The most frequent mistakes we see in completed renovations are:
- Relying on ceiling lights alone, with no task or accent layer
- Choosing pendants without checking proportion against the ceiling height and island or table size
- Installing pendants too high, which loses their visual impact and reduces useful light output
- Not including dimmers, particularly in living areas and bedrooms
- Placing downlights directly in front of mirror cabinets, which creates shadow on the face
- Forgetting outdoor lighting until late in the build, when conduit is no longer accessible
The best way to avoid these is to mark your lighting plan on a printed floor plan before any work starts, and walk through how each room will be used at different times of day. If you'd like a second opinion on your plan, our team is happy to review it. See our lighting design service.
A commonly used benchmark is 5 to 10% of your total project budget, covering fittings, switches, electrical labour, and any smart home additions. For a $300,000 renovation, that's $15,000 to $30,000 across the full electrical and lighting scope.
Lighting is one of the few elements that affects every room simultaneously. Well-chosen fittings can elevate materials and finishes you've already invested in. It's also one of the harder things to change after the fact, which is a good reason not to cut the budget here in the final stages of a project.
If budget is tight, prioritise fittings in the rooms you use most: kitchen, living, and bathroom. A considered approach to a few key pieces will have more impact than spreading budget thinly across every room.
Good outdoor lighting does three things: it improves safety, extends the usability of outdoor areas after dark, and contributes to how your home reads from the street. The planning considerations are:
- Entry and pathway lighting so guests can navigate safely
- Wall lights or downlights around decks and covered outdoor areas
- Step lighting or bollards to mark level changes
- Garden or feature lighting if you want to highlight planting or architecture after dark
All outdoor fittings need an appropriate IP rating for their position. Finishes matter too. In coastal environments particularly, powder-coated aluminium and marine-grade stainless hold up better than chrome or plated finishes over time. Browse the Social Light outdoor lighting range for options rated and suited to NZ conditions.
For most builds and renovations, yes. A lighting specialist can help you avoid the common mistakes, select fittings that are proportionally right for each space, and coordinate your plan with your electrician before any work starts. The cost is typically a small fraction of the overall project budget, and the difference in the finished result is usually significant.
At Social Light, we work with homeowners, interior designers, and architects across New Zealand. Whether you need help with a single room or a full project brief, our lighting design service is a good starting point.
Talk to the Social Light Team
We work with homeowners, renovators, designers and architects across New Zealand. If you have a project in progress or a lighting question you can't find the answer to, get in touch.
Lighting design service Get in touchHow early should you plan lighting in a renovation or new build?
As early as possible, ideally at the floor plan stage before walls are framed. This allows for conduit placement, in-wall wiring for wall lights, and precise ceiling rose positioning. Changes made after walls are closed are significantly more expensive and limit your options.
What colour temperature is best for a NZ home?
For most living areas, 2700K to 3000K creates a warm, comfortable feel that suits the natural materials and neutral palettes common in NZ homes. Reserve cooler temperatures (4000K and above) for utility spaces like laundries and garages where task clarity matters more than atmosphere.
How low should a pendant light hang over a kitchen island?
As a general guide, the bottom of the pendant shade should sit 70 to 85 cm above the benchtop surface. Higher than this and the pendant loses visual presence and casts light too broadly; lower and it can obstruct sightlines across the kitchen. The right height also depends on the ceiling height and the shade size, so adjust accordingly.
What IP rating do bathroom lights need in New Zealand?
In New Zealand, bathroom lights within the shower or bath zone (Zone 1) require a minimum IP65 rating. Lights within 60cm of the shower or bath (Zone 2) require IP44 minimum. Lights outside these zones in a bathroom with no direct water exposure can be standard IP20 fittings, but IP44 is a safer choice. Always confirm requirements with your electrician.
How much should you budget for lighting in a renovation?
A commonly used benchmark is 5 to 10% of the total project budget, covering fittings, switches, and electrical labour. Lighting is one of the harder elements to change after completion, so it's worth allocating appropriate budget rather than cutting costs at the end of a project. If budget is limited, prioritise the rooms you use most: kitchen, living area, and bathroom.
