Buy a 4-pack of each at the supermarket to try out.

Thanks apple pie, for the prompt response. Ours is a gut reno so I have nowhere to test this. Perhaps I should go to a lighting store.

Edisons are 2000, not nearly as white as 2700.

Thanks for clarifying palimpsest. I had edison on the island with halogen for recessed and lamps with incandescent so moving to LED seems sooo white :)

https://www.modern.place/led-color-temperature-chart/

This may help you narrow it down. Personally, I think 3500-4000K dimmables might give you a full range of options from daylight to cozy. Chat with the store personnel at an actual lighting store, not a big box store; you want to speak with a knowledgeable person.

I like 2700 for living areas because that is what i am used to with incandescent. I don't like anything higher than 3000. "In the cold light of day" is not an expression for nothing. A Flash Bulb is 5000.

So does that mean a 3000 could dim to 2700? We will still have dimmers but i thought the colour warmth doesn't change. I agree with you - I need to go to a lighting store. My contractor's team are experts but not sure they care as much re: finer detail of lighting color.

Fwiw I use 2700 for my ‘traditional’ clients, my house (more contemporary) is 3000. 4000+ looks corporate to me.

There are no LED bulbs with as good CRI as incandescent bulbs. LEDs do not have thermal spectra, unlike incandescents. That's one reason why many people prefer the light from incandescent bulbs at home. If light quality, rather than just the rated color temperature, is important to you, look for the highest CRI you can find in LEDs. The color temperature preference is quite personal: eyes change as they get older. Many people have very slightly different color sensitivities in each eye, too.

ohhhhhhh, very interesting Hallett - our previous was more transitional but will be more mid-century modern, lots of white walls, and lots more light. Thank you for sharing that.

Be aware that dimming LEDs only goes so far while keeping the light quality. I’m not thrilled with any of mine and usually keep them at full brightness or turn them off. Select the lumens carefully.

I’m a big fan of lamps with warm white bulbs in cozy areas like living, dining, and bedrooms. In task rooms like the kitchen, laundry, and hobby areas, I need brighter lights in the 3000 LED range. It’s nice to have the pot lights as an option and use lamps when you’re relaxing or entertaining. I tried to find LED bulbs with a 90+ CRI (color rendering index) and have been happy with the lighting. Kristie Barnett @ thedecorologist.com has some very helpful blog posts on lighting (and excellent advice in general)!

@ J Hack: Yes, I forgot about the adjustable LED bulbs! We did install those in the kitchen and tried a couple different temperatures before settling on 3000 or so. I do remember the 3500+ were too cold and bright for me. Great suggestion for the OP!

FYI they now make LED's where they have a selectable color temp on them ranging from 2700k-5000k. Might want to look into that as well.

Thanks J Hack. I saw some and mentioned it to my contractor - he still thinks that I should choose one standard for all the recessed but at least that would allow me to test out one area. Have you tried them?

If you are unsure, I would suggest 2 things for recessed lighting:

1. If you are using LED lumenaires, select ones that have adjustable color temperatures. At any time you can change from 2700K-5000K (varies per product).

2. If you would like additional adjustablilty beyond color, like lamp style, depth, available trim/baffle selections, and future-proofing, select an Edison-socket lumenaire. At any time you can experiment with different lamps to achieve the results you like.

_______________

** lumenaire: the whole kit and kaboodle - housing, driver, trim, baffle, lens, lamp

** lamp: the 'bulb'

2700k gives a orange cast to every thing in my home. I prefer 3000 to 3500k in kitchen. You can get recessed lights that habe different presets that you can change as you like

Saving for me.

Go to Home Depot (or Lowes, etc.) and buy a retrofit, recessed light such as this Halo RL4069S1EWHR with a screw base and selectable color temperature. Attach the light to a lamp and take it around your house, trying out the various color temperatures. OR install LED lights with adjustable color temperature that you can adjust anytime. OR install separate housings, trims, and LED bulbs; then choose bulbs whose color temperatures you like for each room.

FYI: I use 2700K in living room, 3000K in hallways and bathroom, and 3500K in kitchen.

Thank you all for your great feedback - I've decided to go with adjustable so I can test out the 2700 and 3000 and see what I prefer. Wdccruise, are you varying lights close to one another at all? The only place I see a potential for color conflict is in the great room as I would prefer 2700 over the dining room and living room but potentially 3000 over the kitchen.

Remember the days when it was just a 25-40-60-75 or 100 watt bulb? You got fancy if you bought the warm white ones....

I feel your pain!

IMO not much different once you stop getting bogged down in a bunch of info you don't need you need to know the type of bulb you are replacing and IMO 4000K works everywhere and you can get dimmable where you think you need them

Thanks Patricia - we aren't replacing any bulbs. This is a gut reno so starting from scratch from LED and haven't use them throughout the house before.

"Wdccruise, are you varying lights close to one another at all?"

The kitchen (3500K) is adjacent to the dining room (2700K) and there's a pass-through opening between them but the difference in color temp just doesn't draw attention to itself.

FYI -WW3 is brewing and we are talking about lights?!

2700-3000 adjustable with 95 CRI. 😏

“FYI -WW3 is brewing and we are talking about lights?!”

It’s a design forum, so yes, it it is a bit of ”first world problems”. that being said, why are you here? Im sure there are thousands of other forums where you can go to discuss World politics.