Choosing the right illumination for a living room requires a lot of attention, because, in this particular space, many different activities are taking place. Living rooms are, in fact, dedicated to entertainment, relax, work and therefore they must be cozy and soothing.
To properly design the living room lighting, the first step is to evaluate the structure and the dimensions of the room, without forgetting to take into account the style of the furniture and how this space will be utilized.
As far as style is concerned, it is important that the lighting design will be matching the furniture in the living room, in order to create a harmonic result. When it comes to the usage of this space, once we have determined which different activities will take place, we should choose a light that becomes functional to guarantee an ideal level of lighting for each use.
How to illuminate a living room
After completing these preliminary evaluations, it is time to select the best lamps for the living room, in order to make every spot of this space fully enjoyable.
Among the different lighting options, it is possible to choose between pendant lights, recessed spotlights, wall sconces, floor lamps, table lamps, each of which can be modern or classic, with a vintage, shabby chic or even different style. Lamps are available in multiple color shades and different materials so, once again, the choice will be determined by the style and function of the space where we want to install them.
To ensure an ideal living room lighting, it is certainly paramount to consider the surface of the room we want to illuminate: how can we make sure that the whole area is covered with the right amount of light? To avoid mistakes, the best solution is to create:
- General lighting: this can be coming from a central pendant light, ceiling lights or wall sconces.
- Intermediate lighting: used to illuminate a certain area, like for example a painting or a bookshelf.
- Accent lighting: this has a decorative function and makes the whole context even more dynamic and captivating.
Living Room lighting ideas
Quite frequently, the living room is separated from the kitchen by an entertainment wall unit, a bookshelf and often there is a sofa or sectional in front of them. With this kind of disposition, the ideal solution is to place a floor lamp in the emptiest place of the room (or in the darkest one), so that the design of the lamp will become prominent in the space.
To watch tv with no disturbance and eye fatigue, it is also important to create a good lighting. Our recommendation is to position a morbid light behind the tv set, orienting the light beam towards the wall. LED strips around the perimeter are a great solution, otherwise we can install some recessed spotlights in the ceiling.
On the other hand, to illuminate the sofas and sectional area, a great solution is to use recessed LED lights on the wall, avoiding to install them in the middle of the wall, because they will be glary for the eyes. Lamps can be chosen in the same color tone of the wall or with contrasting tones, thus creating a color play of strong visual impact.
If in the living room is also present a big dining table, it is necessary to include a powerful light, like the one coming from a pendant light, in order to have the necessary amount of light while eating and entertaining guests. Combining utility and decoration, a pendant light is extremely functional and allows to diffuse a uniform light.
Even if we are decorating a small size living room, choosing the right lighting will contribute to making it warm and inviting. In this particular case, wall sconces are the best option, like for example the Lik lamp, elegant in its smooth and sinuous shape; alternatively, the orientable Dodot spotlight. Another possibility are ceiling lights or adjustable spotlights, an ideal solution not to leave any corner in the dark.
Choosing bright tones and minimal shapes, simple and linear design, to minimize visual obstruction, these are all very useful tricks to make a living room look bigger. Another good idea to convey a sense of amplitude to the room, is to first create a visual fracture in the space using separate light sources, then to add a touch of elegance with some accent lighting.
If instead we want to create a reading corner, it is a must to include some direct lighting, which might come from a floor lamp, positioned on the side of a sofa. The floor lamp will give us the right lighting to read a book without creating fatigues in our eyes. Highly recommended to create a visual interest is the CUT floor lamp, with is elegant and sophisticated design.
Even to highlight a particular object: a painting, a piece of furniture, a vase or any other decorative element, a lamp is still the best solution. In fact, the light beam can be oriented in the preferred direction to make sure that the object will be in the spotlight.
If our goal is to create an eye-catching and, at the same time, optimal light for all the activities taking place in a living room, design lamps are the perfect choice because they contribute to adding an original touch, while elevating the tone of the space.
Axolight has a broad range of proposals and there is plenty of available choices among our novelties to provide an optimal lighting for the living room, paying attention to creating some stimulating contrasts which will certainly add style and harmony to the room.