If you want the short answer, here it is: brilliant home lighting in Salt Lake City comes down to three things that good electricians quietly obsess over every day: where you put the lights, how you control them, and the quality and color of the bulbs themselves. Not the price of the fixtures. Not the trendiest style. Those three simple pieces.
Once you understand that, your home starts to feel more like a gallery and less like a warehouse with furniture in it. And because you are on an arts focused site, I am going to lean into how lighting affects color, mood, and how you see your own work at home, whether that is a painting on the wall or just the red of a kitchen chair you like.
If you ever talk to a good electrician Salt Lake City UT, you will notice something: they do not begin by talking about wires. They start by asking how you use the space. Where you sit. What you look at. Where the shadows fall in the evening. That is where the real “secret” lives.
Thinking like an electrician and an artist at the same time
You probably already understand color, contrast, and composition more than most electricians. They usually understand codes, loads, and safety more than most artists. Good lighting at home happens in the overlap.
Here is a simple way to think about it:
Lighting is not decoration first. It is visibility and mood first, and decoration second.
Once you treat it that way, some of the usual habits fall away. For example, one big ceiling light in the middle of the room. That setup is almost always too harsh for art, faces, and textiles. It flattens everything.
Electricians who care about how a space feels tend to work with three layers:
- General lighting for basic visibility
- Task lighting so you can work, cook, read, or paint
- Accent lighting to give attention to objects, texture, or wall color
You do not need all three layers in every single corner. But when a room feels “off,” it is usually because one of those layers is missing or is fighting with the others.
Why Salt Lake light is its own animal
Salt Lake City has sharp daylight and fairly strong seasonal shifts. That changes how your interior lighting works compared to a more cloudy place.
Electricians in the city talk about a few local quirks:
- Bright, high altitude sun that can wash out colors by a window
- Dry air that makes glare from shiny surfaces more noticeable
- Long dark winter evenings that stretch your indoor lighting for months
If you hang a painting in a corner that gets hit with cold window light all morning and a strong downlight at night, it might look like two different pieces. That can be interesting, or it can be annoying. Depends on what you want.
When you plan lighting in a city like Salt Lake, you are not just copying a Pinterest photo. You are negotiating with mountain light that changes across the year.
So, if you work with color at home, it makes sense to test it under your actual room lighting, not just daylight. Painters already know this. Electricians who do a lot of art focused projects know it too.
Color temperature: warm, cool, and why your art looks “wrong”
Color temperature is the part most people blame on their phone camera instead of their bulbs.
Every bulb has a color temperature, measured in Kelvin (K). You usually see something like 2700K, 3000K, 4000K on the box.
Here is how that roughly works:
| Color temperature | Look and feel | Where it works well |
|---|---|---|
| 2200K – 2700K | Very warm, soft, yellowish | Bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, vintage style fixtures |
| 3000K | Warm white, balanced | Most rooms, good compromise for homes |
| 3500K – 4000K | Neutral to cool white | Studios, kitchens, workspaces, bathrooms |
| 5000K and up | Daylight / bluish | Garages, some studios, very task focused areas |
Here is the small electrician secret: they will often use different color temperatures in the same home, on purpose, but rarely in the same line of sight. You might have:
- 2700K in the bedroom and living room
- 3000K in the hallway
- 3500K or 4000K over an easel, desk, or kitchen counter
What they try to avoid is mixing 2700K and 5000K in the same room. That makes one area feel cozy and another look like a dentist office. Some people like that tension. Most do not.
If a painting or print looks “muddy” at night, check your bulb color before you blame the work.
If you create art at home, choose one space where you control the color temperature carefully. Many artists in Salt Lake prefer 4000K for working, then a warmer light somewhere else for relaxing.
CRI: the quiet spec that changes how you see color
Electricians talk about CRI more now than they did ten years ago. CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. It tells you how accurately a light source shows color compared to natural light.
You do not need the full technical side, just this:
- CRI 80: common, budget friendly, color can look a bit dull
- CRI 90: much better, colors feel richer, skin tones improve
- CRI 95+: high quality, nice for artwork and photography
If your home is also a place where you draw, sew, sculpt, or just hang art you care about, higher CRI is worth the extra few dollars.
Many electricians who care about design quietly pick CRI 90 bulbs as a standard, at least in main spaces. In storage rooms or closets, they might relax that rule.
You can treat CRI like you treat a brush. A cheap brush can work, but if you are spending hours on details, you want better tools.
Layering light: how pros think through a single room
Let us walk through a room the way a practical electrician might, but with an eye for art and mood.
1. The living room: not a floodlight zone
Picture a basic Salt Lake living room: couch, TV, maybe a keyboard in the corner, a few framed pieces on the wall.
An electrician who cares about the space will probably ask:
- Where do you sit to read or draw?
- Which wall has art that matters to you?
- Is there glare on the TV from the main light?
Then they start to build layers.
General lighting:
- Recessed lights spaced around the room, on a dimmer
- Or a ceiling fixture that gives soft light, not direct glare
Task lighting:
- Floor lamp next to your main chair
- Table lamp near where you sketch or read
Accent lighting:
- Track heads or adjustable recessed lights aimed at specific artwork
- LED strip on a shelf for sculptures or books
None of that is unusual. The “secret” is that they put these on separate switches or scenes. That way you can turn on:
- Only the art lights for a quiet evening
- Only the task lamp to read, with background lights dimmed
- Everything bright when you clean or rearrange furniture
If your living room feels flat, you probably rely too heavily on the single overhead fixture. Electricians see that all the time.
2. The kitchen: functional, but not theatrical
The kitchen might be the most overlit room in Salt Lake homes. Bright is good for chopping, yet harsh light can make faces look tired and food look unappealing.
Good electricians usually build three zones here:
- Ceiling lights for general brightness
- Under cabinet lights for counters
- Pendants or a strip over the island or table
For someone who likes visual work, having stronger, cooler light on the counters (like 3500K to 4000K) is useful. You see texture, edges, and color shifts better.
Then over the table or island, they pick slightly warmer bulbs so people do not feel like they are in a studio all evening.
This kind of compromise is not always neat. Sometimes you end up with a space that looks almost too bright in photos but feels right in person. Electricians are usually fine with that trade.
3. The bedroom: your quiet gallery
Bedrooms often get ignored. One flush mount in the center and maybe a random lamp. That is it.
For someone who cares about aesthetics, that is a waste. You probably have textiles, books, and maybe sketches or prints in there.
Here is what many electricians like to do when someone gives them freedom:
- Soft, dimmable ceiling light for basic use
- Wall sconces or focused lamps by the bed, each with its own switch
- Simple picture light or track head for one wall of art, if you have it
Color temperature is usually warmer here. 2700K is fine. Many people prefer that because it calms the room down after long bright days.
If you sometimes work on art in bed or on the floor, you might need one portable lamp with a cooler bulb that you just drag around as you need it, rather than asking an electrician to treat the bedroom as a full studio.
Spotlighting art without cooking it
If you hang original art, prints, or photography, you already know that light can help or hurt.
Electricians who do gallery style lighting at home think about three main things:
- Angle
- Intensity
- Heat and UV
Angle:
Aim the light at about a 30 degree angle from the vertical. That reduces glare and keeps your shadow from landing on the piece when you stand in front of it.
Intensity:
You want the art slightly brighter than the wall around it, not blinding. That small difference draws the eye.
Heat and UV:
Old incandescent and halogen fixtures can throw a lot of heat and UV onto paintings. LED fixtures solve most of that. Electricians who care about preservation will almost always pick LEDs.
If you have an original piece that cost you real money, ask about heat and UV when you plan the lighting, not after the varnish starts to crack.
A simple track system with adjustable heads is usually more flexible than single fixed picture lights, especially if you rearrange art often.
Smart controls: art of dimming without drama
Smart lighting can get silly. You do not need your living room to flash colors like a stage. But some of the new control options give you very fine adjustments that traditional switches do not.
Electricians tend to favor a few modest upgrades:
- Dimmers for general and accent lights
- Scene controls, where one button sets several circuits to preset levels
- Smart bulbs or switches in a small number of key locations
For example, you might have:
- A “studio” scene at 90 percent brightness over your work area
- An “evening” scene with only art lights and a few table lamps at low levels
- A “cleaning” scene with everything bright and flat
The trick is to avoid creating so many controls that you need a manual to turn on a lamp. Many electricians complain, quietly, that some owners overcomplicate things because they like gadgets more than they like living in the space.
If you are more interested in art than tech, keep the smart features to what actually helps you see better or relax more. That usually means dimming and a small number of scenes.
Common mistakes that flatten your space
Some of the most common lighting habits in Salt Lake homes make rooms feel less interesting and, strangely, less personal. Electricians see patterns here.
Here are a few patterns worth questioning:
- One bright “boob light” in the middle of every bedroom
- Mismatched bulb colors in the same fixture or room
- Recessed lights placed in a perfect grid instead of where you actually sit or stand
- No lighting on vertical surfaces, only downward
- Track lighting used as a spotlight on people instead of walls or objects
A grid of recessed lights can make a white ceiling look neat on paper, but in practice, what you see are pools of light on the floor. Artwork, curtains, and bookcases end up in shadow.
Many electricians who care about aesthetics try to aim some of the light at walls, not just the ground. That increases the sense of space. It can also make your art corner or piano wall feel more like part of the room.
If you stand in your living room at night and most walls look dim while the floor is bright, that is a sign your lighting layout is not doing you any favors.
Balancing budget, safety, and beauty
You asked for secrets. Most of the time, the real “secret” is not a special product. It is the discipline to spend money on less visible things first.
Electricians in Salt Lake talk a lot about:
- Old aluminum wiring
- Overloaded circuits from added space heaters, computers, or studio gear
- Panels that are at capacity or poorly labeled
A new, stylish fixture on a tired electrical system is like a nice frame on a canvas that is falling apart at the corners.
If you work with a pro, expect them to push panel safety and wiring quality before they get excited about your idea for color-tunable LEDs. That is not them blocking your creativity. That is them doing their job.
Personally, I think the right order is:
- Make sure the panel and wiring are safe and sized for your actual load
- Add circuits where you need them for studios, kilns, or heavy equipment
- Plan layout and control of lighting
- Select fixtures and bulbs with color and mood in mind
You can bend that order a bit, but ignoring the first two steps usually comes back as a problem later.
Lighting for creative work at home
Salt Lake has a lot of people who do creative work at home: painters, digital artists, musicians, photographers, crafters. The lighting needs there are different from someone who only watches TV and cooks.
Here are a few electrician backed habits that help:
Separate “work” light from “home” light
Try to create one area in your home where the lighting is tuned for work. Brighter, more neutral in color, higher CRI.
For example:
- A wall mounted LED panel over your work table at 4000K, CRI 90+
- A second layer of softer, warm light for when you are not working
That way, you do not have to labor under harsh light everywhere to get the clarity you need at your easel or desk.
Use indirect light when you stare at surfaces for hours
If you look at the same canvas, page, or tablet for long stretches, direct glare from a bare bulb can be tiring.
Electricians often suggest:
- Fixtures with diffusers
- Up lighting that bounces off a light ceiling
- Desk lamps with adjustable heads and shades
This spreads light more evenly so your eyes do not fight hot spots.
Think about reflections if you work on glossy media
Photographers, digital artists with glossy screens, or anyone who uses varnish can struggle with reflections.
Where possible, aim light at an angle so you see the work, not the light source reflected back. This might mean you shift a can light a bit toward a wall or mount a track a little off center. Electricians sometimes do things that look slightly “wrong” in a floor plan so the reflections come out right in real life.
Small upgrades that change more than you expect
Not every change needs a full rewiring. Some of the best lighting improvements are simple.
Here are a few examples that electricians in Salt Lake often recommend:
- Swap all mixed bulbs in a single room for one consistent color temperature
- Add dimmers on main living spaces
- Install under cabinet lights in the kitchen
- Add one or two accent lights for a favorite wall or nook
- Raise or lower existing fixtures to a better height over tables or islands
Those steps are not flashy, but they can make your home feel calmer and more intentional. If you are sensitive to light because you do visual work, the difference is noticeable.
You might find that after a few of these small changes, you spend more time in corners of your home you used to ignore. A chair by the window, now with a better lamp. A shelf with a print you like, now actually visible at night.
Questions to ask your electrician before any lighting project
Electricians are not mind readers. Many are also not artists, so they may not think about your paintings or fabrics unless you bring them up.
Here are useful questions to ask:
- “Can we use dimmers on the main living areas and working areas?”
- “What color temperature and CRI are you planning for these rooms?”
- “Could we add a separate switch for accent lights on this wall?”
- “Is my panel in good shape for the extra lighting and equipment I want?”
- “Can we angle any recessed or track lights toward walls instead of just the floor?”
If an electrician seems annoyed by those questions, that might be a small red flag. You are not asking for gold leaf on the wires. You are asking for control and clarity.
On the other side, if you demand twelve different scenes controlled by three apps, expect some pushback. At some point, the system becomes harder to use, and they know they will get a call later when a simple switch would have done the job.
Quick Q&A to bring this down to earth
Q: My living room feels flat and cold at night. Where should I start?
A: Start by checking your bulbs. Pick one color temperature for the whole room, ideally around 2700K or 3000K. Add one or two lamps with warm bulbs at eye level. If you can, put the ceiling lights on a dimmer and keep them lower in the evening. Then think about highlighting one wall or object, not the whole room at once.
Q: I paint at home. What should I ask an electrician for?
A: Ask for a dedicated work area with bright, high CRI, neutral white light around 3500K to 4000K. Aim it so it does not reflect straight back at your eyes or canvas. Keep the rest of the room calmer so your eyes can rest when you step away from the work.
Q: Do I really need high CRI bulbs for my art wall?
A: Need is a strong word, but they help. High CRI bulbs show reds, skin tones, and subtle color shifts more accurately. If you have one area with original work or favorite pieces, it makes sense to use better quality light there.
Q: Is smart lighting worth it for an artist, or is that just tech for techs sake?
A: It depends how you use it. Simple smart scenes that shift between “work bright” and “evening soft” can help your brain change gears. Color changing party effects are usually a distraction unless you are doing installation work that calls for that.
Q: How do I know if I should call an electrician instead of just buying more lamps?
A: If you trip breakers often, use lots of extension cords, or feel like you can never get enough light without glare, it is time to talk to a pro. Lamps can improve mood, but they do not fix overloaded circuits or bad wiring. When your questions go beyond “which bulb should I buy,” an electrician is the better next step.