The living room is often one of the most used rooms in the house, so it’s essential that you get the lighting right. Lighting can change the whole feel of a room, it can make a room go from seemingly cold and dingy to warm and cozy and, luckily, there are plenty of lighting options out there for you to play with.
However, lighting any room can be a complex process and, with so many options out there, it can be a challenge to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together 3 tips for getting living room lighting right, to give you a few pointers to transform the heart of your home.
- Decide on your general lighting first
General lighting is the main lighting in the room; this can be natural light or light from a central ceiling fitting. Not all living rooms have central ceiling fittings and natural light is the source of their lighting, to find out how to maximise your natural light, read this really useful article.
If you do have a central light fitting, you can create a focus point with it, such as with a chandelier or a central pendant.
- Think about which tasks you need to accomplish in the room
Each room in your house has a specific function and you will have a task to carry out in that room. Task lighting refers to the lighting used to aid you in carrying out the task that you need to accomplish in the specific room.
These tasks can be anything from reading to conversation so, when lighting your living room, think about what you use the room for and how lighting can help to enhance that.
We spoke to Oberoi Brothers Lighting who said: “If you’re a keen reader, investing in a reading lamp can be functional and, if you have a lot of conversations in your living room, placing a lamp between your seating areas can help to enhance that.”
- Accent the room
Once you have decided on your general and task lighting, you’re able to get creative with accenting the room. This will add an extra dimension to your living room by giving it depth and you can have total creative freedom whilst doing this.
You should only accent what you want to see and accent lighting fixtures include things like uplighters, track lighting, wall sconces, and directional eye ball lights.
You can use accent lighting to highlight any artwork or ornaments which you wish to enhance. It is advised that you use low-voltage fixtures so that the lighting isn’t too harsh, such as LED lighting. For advice on how to use LED lighting in your home, read this article.
These are just some ways in which you can use lighting to your advantage in your living room, and which lighting you use wholly depends on the type of feel you want the room to have, so get creative because there are plenty of options out there!