Your living room is the core of your home, so it’s worth spending some time for a perfect interior design. And no room is complete without the perfect lighting scheme. Exploring the best living room lighting ideas is worthwhile to ensure that your space has ample light and a humbling ambiance.
Which lighting options do your prefer? Do you want to light up the entire area or highlight specific features? The world of lighting has plenty of potential ideas that impact the room’s design and mood. This guide with 18 lighting ideas will inspire your creativity to make your living room feel comfortable and inviting.
1. Layer Your Lighting
Creating a cohesive living room lighting scheme requires a bit of thought. The best way to get the lighting right is to use so-called layered lighting throughout your living room. Layered lighting means using more than one type of lighting within the space for multiple functions.
A crash course on the types of lighting:
- Ambient lighting: Also called everyday lighting, this type aims to illuminate the entire space evenly.
- Task lighting: Lights placed strategically to brighten working areas like kitchen counters.
- Accent lighting: Softer lighting that highlights specific aspects like artwork.
- Decorative lighting: These lights aim to look beautiful instead of having a particular purpose.
2. Add A Centerpiece
If you’d like your living room to make a grand statement, you will easily get that right with a large light in the center of the ceiling. You can let your imagination run wild with this idea, as any style of light will do. You could make a crystal chandelier the star of the show or a rattan pendant light – anything really.
The centerpiece should preferably be a hanging light to add to its dramatic influence, but a beautiful embellished flush mount ceiling light can also fit the bill if you have a small room or a low ceiling. This large-light option will simultaneously fill your living room with ambient light and look stunning.
3. Oversize It With A Floor Lamp
Installing lights on the ceiling or the walls may be a bit too much of a hassle, but you can still accomplish a cohesive lighting scheme with an oversized floor lamp that nestles on the side of the room and arches over the living area. This idea suits open-plan living spaces beautifully.
Floor lamps accent the living space and are lovely as decorative pieces. These lights are great for watching TV and when other lights get too harsh for your eyes. Oversized floor lamps aren’t the best option for complete ambient lighting, as they don’t cover a wide area, but they are entirely worthwhile for layered lighting.
4. Use Wall Sconces
Living room walls are often left unnoticed in terms of lighting, but they are a perfect spot to contribute to the illumination and aesthetic of the space. Wall sconces are underrated as lighting options, but now that you know they are a good choice for your living room, feel free to try this diverse lighting opportunity!
Wall sconces are available in all shapes, sizes, and colors, so you’re bound to find one that perfectly matches your living room. Multiple sconces create ambient lighting, or you can use a singular large one for softer lighting that accentuates your sofas. You can also play around with lighting direction with uplights, downlights, or one that shines both ways.
5. Place Pretty Pendants
Good things can also come in threes, which rings true for pendant lights. Pendant lights in your living room offer a chic, modern touch, and by adding multiple, you’ll have ample light and a stunning visual attraction. You can place three pendants above your couch, over your coffee table, or near the wall.
If you want a modern look, you can use colored glass or industrial steel lamps, and if you want elegance, opaque pendants are also at your disposal. More of a bohemian fan? Plenty of these lights are made of natural materials that can make your house a home.
6. Benefit From Recessed Lights
Recessed ceiling lights are almost a staple in any home environment, and your living room will benefit too. Recessed lights sit within the ceiling, letting them go unnoticed, which is fantastic for those who often like to change their living room design, as recessed lights match anything and everything.
Besides their change-of-design friendliness, their ability to light up a room evenly is unmatched by any other light. If you want stylized lights, recessed lights are still worth installing, as you can have a separate switch for when you want a softer glow. Another plus is that these lights are energy efficient and low maintenance.
7. Try Some Lovely Lanterns
If you want a dreamy, romantic atmosphere within your living room, lantern lights do that best. If you’re going to use your wall for lighting, installing two or more wall lanterns will give your lounging area a warm glow.
Bohemian-themed homes will thrive with a Moroccan ceiling lantern in their design by adding a burst of color and hours of eye candy. If your color scheme is more neutral, you can find a lantern ceiling light and place it in the center of your living room. Lantern lights work best when in a layered lighting scheme.
8. Consider LED Strips
LED strips are perfect for a tight budget. LED strip lighting is easy to install and can get placed anywhere your heart desires. These lights also allow you to change their color and set your living room up for any mood. LED strips look fantastic when installed along the ceiling tray and provide even illumination throughout your living room.
LED strip lighting can work as an accent or decorative lighting alongside other lights. You can also place LED strips along the bottom wall skirting for a fuller lighting scheme. Another idea is to put them beneath your sofas for a glow like no other.
9. Use Table Lamps For Ambiance
A simple table lamp can significantly affect your lighting scheme if you have corner or coffee tables. Table lamps are inexpensive to bring extra illumination to your living room and don’t require any installation – a perfect lighting quick fix.
Table lamps can accentuate the room’s design thanks to many lampshade variations. You can go bold with a bright color or pattern, kick it back with an antique, or make it modern with a metallic finish. Table lamps are ideal for a lounging reader who likes to lose themselves in a good book late at night.
10. Light Up The Fairy Lights
If you’re looking for a warm atmosphere, you can’t go wrong with a string of fairy lights. Bohemian, Scandinavian, and contemporary design schemes can all benefit from this budget idea. You can place your fairy lights on hooks mounted to your wall, or if you have a staircase next to your living room, the banisters work wonderfully.
This twinkling option looks fabulous around artwork, pictures, and mirrors. You can also put them in glass jars placed on your coffee table. Fairy lights are more decorative than anything else. Still, they add to the serene atmosphere necessary for any lounging area.
11. Say It Best With Neon Lights
Are you looking for a bold statement? Neon lights on the wall would add a pop of color and character, making your living room famous. You can buy a custom-made neon light with your favorite inspirational quote or find one that suits your style; either way, this lighting will bring new meaning to living room lighting.
If you’re someone who likes fun and a touch of 90s, your neon light can act as a centerpiece, but if you’d like something a little more subtle (as much as a neon light can be), you can use a small neon light with other funky wall decorations to even out the retro style.
12. Set Up A Feature Wall
You can make your wall a masterpiece by shedding light on its fantastic features. Feature walls need a row of lights focused onto them to stand out, which is best achieved with angled recessed lights. This idea works well for walls decorated with unique textures or bold wallpaper.
You can also make your feature wall feel like part of a gallery with a large, vibrant artwork or numerous small artworks. If recessed lights aren’t an option, picture lights have the same highlighting effect. This wall lighting idea will bring a glamorous aspect to your living room and provide ample ambient light.
13. Make A Statement With An Oversized Wall Light
A statement living room wall doesn’t need to be a complex task; all it takes is a single light fixture mounted in the center. For maximum design impact, you’ll want this statement fixture to be at least 2 feet tall or wide.
You can find large light fixtures online, but you may need to ask an artist for a custom design. Although this isn’t the cheapest option out there, combining light and artwork into one is almost genius and will make your living room one-of-a-kind. If you still love this idea, but the budget doesn’t permit it, you may try Pinterest and your DIY skills!
14. Use Symmetrical Lighting
Symmetry equals harmony, and magic happens when you bring lighting into that equation! You’ll want to divide your living room in half and place the same lighting fixtures on either side. This could be any lighting, including pendant lights, wall scones, floor lamps, and even table lamps.
Dividing your living room to mimic lighting on each side allows you to ensure that all illumination is even throughout the space. Symmetry also makes the room appear more spacious, so this idea is worth incorporating if you have a small living room! Keep the furniture placement in mind to ensure that the light division is balanced and doesn’t look choppy.
15. Light Up Your Shelving
Shelving in your living room could do with a facelift! If your shelving features beautiful artwork and ornaments, this is the perfect time to let them shine like the design features they are. Bookshelves also benefit from this idea.
You can install recessed lights for ultimate lighting, but you can also use LED strips for a less costly solution. LED lights have another leg-up because they change color! Lit shelving brings warmth to your living room and a little extra light, which is perfect for layering and enlivening the ambiance.
16. Try Transparent Lighting
A clean open living room does not need anything obstructing its atmosphere – cue: transparent lighting. Transparent lighting means using crystal clear fixtures either made of crystal, glass, or acrylic. This lighting option reflects its illumination wonderfully and keeps the space free from distraction.
Transparent lighting matches just about every design influence, from vintage to minimalist, allowing you to change your design as often as the seasons turn. If you want your lighting to bring color into the mix, you can use colored translucent glass lights, which are just as seamless and lovely.
17. Keep The Corners In Mind
The corners of your living room also deserve a little love. Ensuring the corners have illumination makes your living room appear larger and more consistent. You can achieve this by installing recessed lights in your living room, but if that’s not possible, there are a few other tips and tricks.
Ways to light the corners include:
- A complimenting standing floor lamp
- A corner coffee table with a table lamp
- Installing more wall lights
- Multiple small pendant lights
- LED strip lights along the wall
- A decorative ladder wrapped in fairy lights
18. Add Dimmers To Your Lights
If your living room lighting project includes light installation, you should add dimmers. Light dimming will allow you to set the room’s mood, make watching TV more pleasing, and help guests with sensitive eyes! Dimmers also help you save energy and prolong light bulb lifespans. There is no downside to dimmers, making them 100% worthwhile.
