When it comes to living room decorations, people spend long hours finding the perfect sofa, choosing the colour scheme, and picking the artwork to hang on their walls. Sadly, not many people remember that lighting is equally important, as the living room is the place where you will be spending a lot of quality time together with friends and family. Diana Smith gives you several tips that will help you light your living room like a professional interior designer.
1. Be Careful with Canned Lights
There are people who use canned lights as overhead fixtures, but you should be careful when making that choice as they are more ambient lighting. Canned lights should be used sparingly; for example, to create a more romantic atmosphere. Designers seldom use canned lights as the sole source of light in a room as it can make it look more like a gaming arcade than a living room. Instead, you can use them to accent a certain place while placing floor lamps to illuminate the space better.
2. Mix Things Up
Don’t shy away from using a mix of floor and table lighting as this combination can make the space look more comfortable and inviting. Depending on how big your living room is, you can add overhead lights, table, and floor lamps too and still make it all work beautifully. You don’t have to follow a formulaic approach to design in order to make your living room look elegant and luxurious. Combine modern lamps with traditional overheads and always focus on the place where you want the light, rather than on the design of the lamp itself.
3. Go Colour Crazy
Every room will seem more interesting and inviting if you have several mismatched items, rather than having a uniformed look. Don’t be afraid to pick lamps of different styles and colours, have tall silvery-white floor lamps and pair them with bright blue coffee table lamps, and you might be pleasantly surprised with the result. Make sure one of the lamps matches the overall colour scheme of your living room, but always add something that stands out in a way: throw pillows, soft rugs, table lamps, tablecloths, etc. Have several lamps that have mismatched shades or use coloured light bulbs to achieve a festive effect in the room.
4. Pick the Right Lamp
When getting a lamp for your living room, make sure you pick the one that has the right shade and is of the right height. If you’re able to see the light bulb socket or neck of the light bulb from where you’re standing or sitting down, it means that the lamp is probably too tall. Not to mention that the sight of a bare bulb isn't exactly pleasant to look at. Still, if you notice a tall lamp you believe would go perfectly with the rest of your room, don’t hesitate to buy it, and find a shade that will cover the bulb.
5. Use Dimmers
Dimmers are the best because they save energy and can set the mood in the room in a blink of an eye. Not only will you be spending less electricity, but your light bulbs will be living longer, making dimmers in living rooms a good investment. Depending on the time of the day, your mood, or the event you’re hosting, dimmers will allow you to be flexible and use your living room to the fullest. Still, you shouldn’t take matters into your own hands when you can find a reliable 24 hour electrician that will gladly do this for you.
It’s important to remember that there aren’t actually any hard or fast rules when it comes to choosing the perfect lamp and lighting for your living room. There are suggestions and general guidelines, but in the end, it all comes down to your own living room and your own opinion of what works best and what you think looks good. Feel free to mix and match different styles and pieces until you find the one that’s perfect for you.