Tips on how to light your living room properly

The importance of the right lighting in the living room

Living room lighting is an important aspect of creating a cozy and functional living area. After all, it is a room where we spend most of our time. This is where we eat together and play, listen to music and watch TV, read and discuss, socialize and relax - the spectrum is as colorful and varied as our lives.

Between rest and socializing, the lighting has to meet different requirements. That's why a good lighting concept with the use and combination of different light sources should make it possible to respond individually to the desired room mood and use in the respective situation.

You should also think about the purpose of the room. Should the living room mainly be used for relaxing and reading or will it also serve as a work area or entertainment center? Depending on which functions you want your living room to fulfill, you will also need the right lighting for you.

In general, it can be said that the lighting in the living room is formed by the symbiosis of main lighting and accent lighting. We also recommend that you always choose dimmable lights.

Dimmable luminaires can play a particularly important role in the living room, as this is usually the room where people relax the most and spend time with family and friends. Dimmable lighting can help to create a warm, inviting atmosphere that helps to reduce stress and promote relaxation. You can use dimmable lights in the living room in various ways. 

One floor lamp or a table lamp with a dimmer function, for example, can help create a cozy atmosphere when you want to watch a movie or read a book. You can adjust the brightness to tailor the light to your needs, depending on whether you are spending a relaxing evening in the living room or have visitors. Another way to use dimmable lights in the living room is to place them in a ceiling light ceiling light. 

Dimmable LED lights are a popular choice for the living room as they are energy efficient and generally have a long lifespan. You can also set different color temperatures to control the light and adjust the mood in the room.

With the flexibility that dimmable lights offer, you can tailor the light to your needs and create an atmosphere that perfectly matches your mood and décor. 

"Use a combination of dimmable luminaires and different light sources to create a flexible and inviting atmosphere in the living room"

Which lights are suitable for the living room?

Pendant luminaires

In general, we recommend lighting the living room with a pendant light that creates ambient lighting in the room and can also be dimmed to create a pleasant atmosphere. You can also place a small table lamp on a small side table, which can serve as romantic accent lighting.

LED strips

LED strips can be used in various ways in the living room to create an inviting and cozy atmosphere. For example, they can be installed as accent lighting under shelves or on the ceiling to create indirect lighting. 

They can also be placed behind the TV or on furniture to create soft lighting that helps you relax. LED strips are energy efficient, have a long lifespan and can be set in different colors and brightness levels to match the ambience of the living room.

Wallwasher

A wallwasher is a type of lighting that is installed on the wall to evenly illuminate a large area. In the living room, a wallwasher can help to emphasize the wall and create a warm, inviting atmosphere. By casting the light evenly on the wall, it can also help to visually enlarge the room and create a pleasant atmosphere. 

Another advantage of wallwashers in the living room is that they can serve as backlighting for artwork or wall decorations. The uniform lighting draws attention to the artwork and can create a special atmosphere in the room. There are also dimmable wallwashers that provide even more flexible lighting in the living room. With a dimmer function, you can adjust the brightness of the lighting to suit your needs and create a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Arc lights

Arc lights are an elegant and practical lighting option in the living room. This type of floor lamp has a curved arm that allows the light to project out over the room. Arc lights are available in different sizes and styles, so you can find one that suits your decor and room size. 

Arc lights are particularly suitable for living rooms with high ceilings or large rooms. They can help to illuminate dark corners in the room and act as accent lighting for certain areas, such as reading corners or seating areas. A dimmable arc light can also help to create a cozy atmosphere in the living room by adjusting the brightness of the light to the user's needs.

Ceiling lights

Glare-free and indirect ceiling lights are an important component of living room lighting. They help to avoid unpleasant glare effects and create uniform and pleasant illumination in the room. Anti-glare ceiling lights have a special optic or cover that diffuses the light, preventing it from shining directly into the viewer's eyes. This is particularly important when watching TV, reading or working in the living room, as glare can cause eye strain, headaches and fatigue.

Indirect ceiling lights do not cast the light directly onto the surface below them, but reflect the light onto the ceiling or wall, creating soft and diffused lighting in the room. This type of lighting is particularly useful for creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in the living room and can help to visually enlarge the room. Glare-free and indirect ceiling lights can also help to highlight the décor of the living room by creating an even illumination of the room and showcasing artwork or pieces of furniture.

Overall, glare-free and indirect ceiling lights are an important component of living room lighting that can help create a cozy and inviting atmosphere without straining the eyes or creating unpleasant glare. In addition to choosing the right type of ceiling lights, it is also important to position and regulate the lighting in the living room accordingly. 

Recessed spotlights

Recessed spotlights in the living room are a popular lighting option for modern living spaces. This type of lighting is often used to create a warm and inviting atmosphere while providing a practical solution for lighting the room. Installing recessed spotlights in the living room requires some planning and preparation. Firstly, you need to choose the position of the spots carefully to ensure that they create the desired lighting effect while adequately illuminating the room. It is important that you think about the number of spots required and their placement before starting the installation.

Another important factor when installing recessed spotlights in the living room is choosing the right type of lighting. LED spotlights are a popular option as they are energy-efficient and long-lasting.

However, it is also important to consider the color temperature of the spots, as this can have a big impact on the atmosphere of the room. Recessed spotlights in the living room offer a variety of benefits.

They can help to visually enlarge the room and provide a flexible lighting solution that can be adjusted as required.

In addition, they can also help to structure the room better and highlight certain areas.

What other things do I need to consider when it comes to living room lighting?

When choosing lighting, you should definitely pay attention to the color temperature of the lights. We recommend warm white light for a great atmosphere (2700- 3300 Kelvin).

The color rendering index also plays a major role. In the living room, luminaires with a CRI of at least 80 should be selected to ensure good color rendering

It is also a great idea to integrate various lighting controls so that not everything is controlled via the light switch but, for example, via the intelligent control on the cell phone or via Amazon Alexa. Switches, dimmers or remote controls are also ideal.

An important tip is to pay attention to the size of your light and not install a light that is too large in a room that is too small, otherwise it will overwhelm the room. However, it would be just as wrong the other way round if a luminaire that is too small were to illuminate a particularly large room, as otherwise it would not be sufficiently illuminated.

6 tips for the right living room lighting

• 1. ceiling lighting in the living room is primarily suitable as basic illumination. If living room lamps are fitted with a diffuser, the light is spread evenly throughout the room. If the living room lamp is to be installed as a pendant model, the right place is usually above the coffee table. This is where the high-quality ceiling lighting in the living room takes center stage. The coffee table is perfectly illuminated at the same time. This placement also prevents guests and taller people from bumping their heads, for example.

• 2 By using several light sources, the living room and its interior can be given a new structure and the living area a more pleasant atmosphere. Various wall and table lamps can be used to create fascinating moods. Different lampshades with filigree openings can be used as living room lamps to create interesting shadow effects that give the furniture a new look. Modern living room lighting can hardly do without spotlights, for example. Sculptures, photographs and pictures, for example, can be accentuated effectively and elegantly. With the help of a high-quality living room lamp or an extravagant light source, shelves and side/highboards and even window sills can be illuminated as eye-catchers or points of light.

• 3. for table lamps and often also Wall lights are usually not just practical light sources, but primarily an individual decoration. This type of living room lamp can therefore always be more eye-catching. As living room lamps selected as table lamps and floor lamps are mobile lighting objects, the various designs are particularly suitable for small living areas. Different light sources also make these rooms appear larger. If bright elements / furniture or the white-painted ceiling are also illuminated by living room lamps with diffusers, their reflection also creates an enlarging effect.

• 4 Floor lamps in particular, as mobile living room lamps, offer a variety of possible uses. Flexible joints and swivel-mounted frames mean that the light sources can always be adjusted for individual use. Thanks to a bundled, downward-focused beam of light, floor lamps are almost indispensable as reading lights. The light intensity can be adjusted to the time of day using a dimmer. Nevertheless, a basic level of brightness should always prevail in the living room to prevent eye fatigue.

• 5 In addition to ceiling lighting in the living room, indirect light sources in particular create a pleasant atmosphere. Uniform illumination can be provided by LED strips and/or recessed LED lights, for example. Other models that are predestined for indirect lighting can be installed without any manual work at all. For example, retailers offer ceiling lighting for living rooms that uses special panels to refract the light beams. Reflection causes geometric patterns to appear on the ceiling. So-called ceiling spotlights, whose light source is located inside a light shell, indirectly illuminate the ceiling in the living area. One advantage of this lighting design is that illuminated ceilings appear significantly higher.

• 6 Modern light sources such as LEDs offer different light colors. These can be bluish-cool or yellowish-warm, for example. The term 'Kelvin' (K) is used to identify different color temperatures. A distinction is made between three different ranges: light colors above 5,300 Kelvin are intended to support concentration, while color temperatures with a maximum of 3,300 Kelvin are intended to have a relaxing effect. Living room lamps equipped with a light source with a maximum light intensity of 3,300 Kelvin are similar to light bulbs at that time or to the atmosphere in cozy evening hours. However, the color temperatures are subject to individual taste. A living room lamp with a neutral white light source can also provide basic lighting in the living area. For a reading corner, for example, experts recommend indirect lighting with a higher Kelvin value.

Conclusion - How to do everything right!

Choosing the right living room lighting can have a major impact on the atmosphere and functionality of the room. Careful planning and selection of lighting can help to visually enlarge the room, highlight certain areas and create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Different types of lighting, such as floor lamps, ceiling lights and recessed spotlights, each offer their own benefits and can be customized as needed. Overall, it is important to consider your individual needs and style preferences when choosing living room lighting to create a space that is functional and aesthetically pleasing.

If you are still undecided about how you want to implement the lighting in your living room, why not make an appointment with the lighting professionals at skapetze®, for a personal consultation and the development of an individual lighting concept and the development of an individual lighting concept.

You are also welcome to visit us on site in Simbach am Inn in our light studio come and visit us.

If you already have a concrete idea of what the lights in your living room should look like, we can help you turn this idea into reality - our in-house workshop makes it possible.