California's Title 24 mandates that the general illumination in the kitchen and bath be fluorescent. But through color temperature and dimming capabilities have improved and electronic ballasts enable quieter operation, many homeowners still have doubts about the quality of light they will receive from fluorescents. In a kitchen over an island, for example, suspend three faux-alabaster pendants fitted with 2700K compact fluorescents. One may want to include ambient light in the bedroom. In addition to reading lights and downlights, sufficient ambient illumination should be included to allow tasks to be performed such as laying out clothing on the bed while packing for a trip.
Fluorescents work well in closets and laundry rooms.
When lighting the garden or backyard plantings, one can use a layered, multi-dimensional look with night time lighting effects. Unfortunately, lighting is one of those environmental aspects that can be measured numerically, and as a result, many times relied upon disproportionately in evaluating our visual environment. We tend to trust the light meter before we trust our eyes. Minimum or maximum illuminance levels or uniformity ratios are established by codes, standards or recommendations, all of which do not guarantee an appropriate or aesthetically pleasing luminous environment. Since we light our built environments for humans, we can use physiology and psychology as a basis of design, relying on calculations and numerical analysis only as verification.