Laundry Rooms are often overlooked, especially in older homes, in terms of lighting. Laundry Rooms are a “task” area and should be lit as such. Flush mounted linear fixtures ideally with a high Kelvin temperature and a good CRI (for differentiating between the black and the navy blue socks) are ideal. Linear fixtures help to spread the light and, depending on the size of the room, more than one may be necessary to get the optimal illumination.
A good rule of thumb for a room painted in a lighter color with high reflectance (reflectance is a major factor in lighting a space) is 50-70 Lumens per ft. The type of light source also plays a role. Incandescent fixtures add heat to a room and, as we know, Laundry Rooms create enough of their own heat due to the Dryer.
Therefore, LED is a great option as well as the often maligned Fluorescent. Under-cabinet lighting may be added as well if there are cabinets or shelves close to where ironing and folding occur and, again, they should be LED or Fluorescent to avoid adding heat.
