Your living room is one of the most important rooms in your house, because it serves so many purposes. It can be a quiet and relaxing place for you and your family to curl up on the sofa and watch a film, or a lively place filled with laughter, conversation and guests. It is usually one of the central rooms in the house, one of the largest rooms and the one that sets the tone for the rest of the design.
Choosing the right lighting for your living room can be a challenge. This one room serves multiple functions, from entertaining to eating to watching TV to playing… so it’s hard to choose one type of lighting solution. In contrast to other rooms of the house that have a specific use, your living room will benefit from having a flexible lighting plan. Your lifestyle changes over time and so will your living room. The lighting should be able to change with it.
So how can you make sure that you have the right lighting solution for your living room? Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
What Points Do You Want to Accent?
One of the first steps is to start by highlighting the most important parts of the living room. This might be a display area, a piece of artwork or an attractive architectural detail. You can highlight these details by using spot lights or by using a wall washing lamp – such as a large fluorescent strip that will light up a large area. You could also use track lighting or recessed lighting for illuminating individual pieces of artwork or points of interest.
Adding Task Lighting
Once the beautiful and attractive points of interest have been lit up, the next step is to think about task lighting. This is the type of lighting that will illuminate the areas where you will be performing certain tasks, such as reading or playing games. For example, if you have a comfortable chair where you like to curl up and read, you can place a lamp above it so that you will have plenty of light to read without eye strain.
If you have a computer in your living room, make sure that you position your light source carefully so that it doesn’t reflect on the screen and cause glare.
Photo Credit: http://www.johnlewis.com/
Ambient Lighting
Now that you have the accents and the task lighting taken care of, the next step is to make sure that the space has plenty of ambient lighting. In a small living room, you might not need any ambient lighting if you already have task lighting and accent lighting. However, in a large room you might want to have additional ambient lighting. This will mean adding wall sconces or ceiling lights, or adding indirect LED or fluorescent lights.
If your ceiling lights feel too bright and harsh, you can always find ceiling lamp shades like the ones at John Lewis to diffuse the light in a more attractive way.
Choosing Stylish Lighting Fixtures
The main purpose of a lighting fixture is to bring light into a space, but it should also be attractive and should complement the overall design of the living room. Is your living room sleek and modern or does it have a vintage vibe to it? Take a look at the lamp shades and other lighting fixture possibilities for your living room, so that you can select something that fits with your chosen style.
Lighting With the Television in Mind
One of the main activities that you use the living room for is watching television, so make sure that you don’t position your table lamps as the same level as the TV. If the light is opposite the television at the same level, you will see it reflected in the picture as you are trying to watch it. Also, always have one other light source (such as your ambient lighting) on while watching the television in order to avoid eye strain.
Keep these tips in mind so that you can light up your living room in a beautiful and functional way.
Tia Jordan is a home décor consultant, blogger and mother of two. She likes to write about clever tips that can make your home more beautiful and functional.
Speak Your Mind