Ultimate Guide on How To Light a Living Room

Table of Contents

Advice on How to light a Living Room

Light Layers

Layering lighting is important in your living room. This is especially important, as a lounge or living room can serve more than one purpose. Effect lighting, accent lighting, task lighting, ambient lighting–all of these should be taken into consideration when creating living room lighting.

Task Lighting

Great for reading, working on your laptop and more, task lighting is an important feature of your living space. Living room wall lights, floor lamps, table lamps and others positioned near seating areas can accomplish this goal. Lounge room wall lighting can also serve as dedicated LED wall reading lights when sitting areas are close to the walls.

Ambient Lighting

In your sitting room lighting plan, ambient lighting is most important. Ambient lights shine illumination over a large section of space at once. Living room ceiling lights such as LED downlights should be used here. Think recessed lighting, surface mounted lighting and other kinds of ceiling downlights, such as pendant lighting for this task.

Accent Lighting

Designed to show off certain features in a room, accent lighting is generally used to accent focal points. LED lighting such as spotlights, up and down lights and wall washing sitting room wall lights are excellent for this effect. If you choose the right kind, even LED ceiling lights can serve as accent lighting, such as spotlights shining from above onto art or an architectural feature.

Natural Light

Do your best to let as much natural light into the room as you can during the day. If your room is naturally dark, you can add sconces and pendant lights to brighten it up.

High and Low Ceilings

Use recessed lighting in low ceilings to keep the room from feeling crowded. High ceilings, on the other hand, can benefit from large or even oversized pendant lights to make use of all of that vertical space.

Consider Dimmable Lights

Choosing LED lights with a dimming feature can allow you to enjoy various levels of lights during different times of the day. This can make a huge difference when it comes to the overall look and feel of your lounge.

How To Make a Fireplace a Focal Point of a Living Room

When designing your interior space, having a focal point is an important step. A focal point can set the mood of the space, so choosing the right one is crucial. Many people like to use a fireplace to accomplish this goal.

Fireplaces are definitely a natural sort of focal point, which makes the job easy. You can arrange the furniture around the fireplace to have it focus on the area. The size, location and design of the fireplace should be what influences the rest of the furniture in the room.

Lower the emphasis on other furnishings and accessories in the room by choosing simple colours and styles. Then, you can dress the fireplace up by accenting it using colours that set it apart from other aspects of the room. The wall with the fireplace can become an accent wall with a quick coat of contrasting, colourful paint.

You can showcase the fireplace using certain kinds of light, such as recessed lighting, track lighting and dimmable lights that shine onto and around the fireplace. Lighting can easily direct the eye to the focal point. Add to the glow using table lamps, candles and various reflective surfaces.

You can upgrade the fireplace itself by adding to the mantel size. You could also update the hearth to make it more eye catching. Adding sculptures and other art to the mantel can also draw attention to the space. Decorative mirrors are another easy way to draw the eye.

How To Give a Living Room Without a Fireplace a Focal Point

Though fireplaces are the most common focal point, you can create your own without a fireplace in sight.

Create a fake fireplace using a faux firebox if you absolutely must have the fireplace look.
Add panelling to the room to creating a wood accent wall behind the sofa, where the television is mounted or anywhere else that needs some texture and pattern.
Create a gallery wall by hanging artwork behind the sofa or above an area with a desk.
Use furniture that is large and eye catching to serve as the focal point.
Add dramatic LED lights to the room such as a large pendant light to create the accent point.
Create an accent wall either with a unique colour or texture or by displaying a mural.
Add a unique design to the whole ceiling or just a section of it to draw attention upward.
If you have a staircase in the room, paint it a bold colour or otherwise update it to stand out as a part of the décor.
Use storage to your advantage by installing eye-catching built-ins to create the focal point.

Ideas on the Best Lounge Room Furniture

Below are some key pieces of furniture you should consider for your home:

Sectionals and sofas. Since sofas are the biggest ticket furnishing in the living room, you should choose a sofa or sectional first and then arrange the rest of the furniture around it. Choose a sectional if you have a large family or often find yourself entertaining guests. A smaller sofa or loveseat may be better if you live alone or with one other person.

Accent chairs and recliners. Additional seating in the form of accent chairs and recliners can make the room feel cosy. It can also ensure your guests have a place to sit when visiting your home. An accent chair, if dramatic enough, can also even serve as the focal point in the room.

Living room tables such as coffee tables and cocktail tables are important in spaces where you plan to entertain. If you want more storage, choose a lift-top coffee table for the job. You can also add side tables to display art or provide even more storage opportunities. End tables and accent tables can create a feeling of continuity in the space.

Media consoles and TV stands. These types of furnishings are important if you don’t want your TV area to look cluttered. Choose a media center that matches the aesthetic of your space and has enough room for your TV, video game consoles and remotes.

Living room lighting. Choose fixtures such as floor lamps, pendant lights and wall lights to begin filling out your room with illumination and style. If you have tall ceilings and a lot of vertical space, use dramatic pendant lights as a focal point to your advantage.

Area rugs. Warm up a cold wood or concrete floor with large area rugs. These can be used as focal points if done right. The size of a rug or rugs may need to be decided based upon the room itself or the furniture, but you are free to choose any colour or pattern that suits the aesthetic.

Are Feature Walls Still in Vogue for Living Rooms?

Feature walls are still an important part of living spaces and are still quite popular. When deciding on the accent walls for your space, it is important that you take a few things into account.

Choose the right colour. Look for a colour that is going to contrast and offset the rest of the room. Many people choose a bold colour for this endeavor. To get ideas for what colours to choose from, look at the colour wheel to find complementary but still opposite colours.

Play with patterns. Using stripes, artwork and other designs, you can make your accent wall pop to life in more than just a colourful way.

Use a mural or wallpaper. This can update a boring lounge space and create a focal point that will start conversations.

Create an accent wall. Make the accent wall the wall that the furniture faces to get the most out of it. You don’t want to have your back to the wall you’ve worked so hard to draw attention to.

Use a plain wall. Choose a solid wall with no interruptions like doors, windows or built-in storage. This will make the colour of the wall stand out.

Decorative frames. Use decorative frames to house various art prints and photos to create an accent wall with depth. Doing so will break up the monotony of a plain wall.

Install a tapestry to give the accent wall more texture and intrigue.

Have a bookshelf built into the wall and use your books as the accent wall area.

Blend a feature wall into the next room. Allow the feature wall to bleed into other rooms, using cabinets or other furnishings that match the colour and pattern of the wall.

How Important Is Storage in a Lounge Room

Storage is important in a living space if you do not want to make it look cluttered. Storage can be incorporated into a lounge in many ways:

Built-in shelving units
Floating shelves on walls
Bookcases that create an accent wall
Built-in storage around a doorway
Run deep drawers at floor level around the perimetre of the room
Conceal a closet door by incorporating it into a wall mural or a wall art collage
Build storage into furniture or choose a lift-top coffee table
Paint the inside of shelves to add visual intrigue
Turn your shelves into a feature of the room
Turn an entire wall into a storage opportunity, such as with built-in bookcases
Combine open and closed storage for a varied visual effect

Which Is Best, Blinds or Curtains in a Living Room?

At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference. Still, there are benefits to choosing one or the other.

In a lounge, curtains have always been thought to be warmer and more inviting. There are a great many type of curtains for you to choose from today. You can play with colour, texture and patterning to make the curtains a part of the décor. Beyond that, they also serve the purpose of being energy saving. Curtains also allow you to layer different textures and create a more visually appealing space.

Blinds have a more classic look and tend to work well in chic living rooms. If you have an open-plan lounge or living room, wider blinds look better. Blinds of various materials also add unique texture to your space. If you like the modern look of blinds but love fabric curtains, you could always choose fabric blinds.

How To Make a Small Lounge Room Look Bigger

Below are some tips for making a small room seem more spacious:

Paint the ceiling the same colour as the walls.
Use recessed lighting instead of pendant lighting.
Forego the table and floor lamps in favor of sleek wall lights.
Use mirrors to move light around the space and make it seem larger.
Keep furniture away from the walls and use it to create walkways behind them.
Choose neutral or light-coloured walls to ensure the light bounces around more effectively.
Choose furniture that can be multifunctional, so you have less bulk in the space.
Layer lighting to reduce shadows and make the room appear more spacious.

Flooring Ideas for Your Living Room

Flooring preferences are just that–preferences. There are many different types of flooring you can choose.

Hardwood flooring. Many modern homes benefit from the beauty of hardwood. There are many shades of wood colours to choose from, and certain stains can make a room seem darker or brighter. Hardwood flooring is also a way to make your home feel warmer and cosier.

Vinyl flooring. Those on a budget who want total control of the appearance of the floor will benefit from vinyl. Vinyl is easy to install and comes in so many variations that the possibilities truly are endless. Rooms that get a lot of use such as living rooms will benefit from its durability as well.

Laminate flooring. Durable and stain resistant, laminate mimics natural wooden floors and is similar to wood in appearance, but is much more livable due to its durability. Laminate flooring is thicker, making the room quieter.

If you like traditional cosiness in a living room, opt for carpet. Soft carpeting with a deep pile can make your living space seem warmer and more inviting.

Lighting Ideas for the Lounge and Living Room

Leon 8 Watt 250mm Wide Brushed Silver LED Wall Light

This Leon 8 Watt 250mm Wide Brushed Silver LED Wall Light is a good choice for task lighting, especially in small rooms. It is only 250 millimetres wide but shines a total of 800 lumens, so it remains quite bright. It is finished in a stylish, modern brushed aluminium that is durable and attractive in equal measure. This light shines a warm 3000k white colour temperature, perfect for reading and performing tasks.

LWA378 5 Watt White Interior LED Wall Light

If you’re aiming to create an accent wall, the LWA378 5 Watt White Interior LED Wall Light is a great choice. It is dramatic and artistic in and of itself with its unique appearance, which looks like folded paper. It also shines 430 lumens of 3000k warm white colour behind it onto the wall. The wall washing effect gives it an even more artistic appearance. The white hue makes it easy to incorporate onto any wall.

LWA243 Black 10 Watt LED Wall Light

For accent lighting, choose the LWA243 Black 10 Watt LED Wall Light. This wall light is unique with its long post-style design that can be oriented either vertically or horizontally. It shines 1000 lumens of light back onto the wall itself, creating a wall washing effect. This modern light is finished in black and outputs 3000k warm white light for you to enjoy in any lounge space.

CSL024 5 Watt Square Recessed LED Downlight Fitting

Create ambient light in a small lounge without making it feel smaller using the CSL024 5 Watt Square Recessed LED Downlight Fitting. The recessed light sinks into the wall and sits flush with its surface ensuring it doesn’t look bulky. Its sleek square shape makes it remarkably modern, and the different interior finishes give you control over its appearance.

LBL283 6 Watt Round Modern LED Ceiling Light

Create a focal point in your lounge using the LBL283 6 Watt Round Modern LED Ceiling Light. This eye-catching light has a unique umbrella shape that will stand out in your lounge. Choose from black, white or cherry red to suit the overall aesthetic of the room. Since it outputs 300 lumens of light, more than one can be installed to create a focal point.

LBL705 12 Watt Square Surface Mounted Anti Glare Downlight

If you love recessed lights but your ceiling can’t accommodate them, try the LBL705 12 Watt Square Surface Mounted Anti Glare Downlight. This anti-glare downlight sits on the surface of the ceiling and shines light down in a similar way. Because the bulb is so deep inside the light, it won’t produce a glare when you look up at it. Instead, it pools light below that seems to come from nowhere, creating a dramatic and modern lighting effect.

LDC722 4 Watt 400 Lumen Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight

Create ambient and task lighting beautifully with the LDC722 4 Watt 400 Lumen Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight. This downlight is super modern with its rectangular shape and recessed design. It contains 2 bulbs deeply recessed into the fitting to prevent glare that shine a pool of light on the area below. The white finish makes it easy to install in light-coloured ceilings.