Living Room Lighting: How to Create Warm, Soft, Beautiful Light
The living room is where we spend the most time, and it is the easiest room to light badly. One strong ceiling light lights everything equally and the room looks flat and cold. Good living-room lighting is built in layers: several warm sources at different heights that you switch on as needed and as the day goes on.
Three layers of light
In the evening, switch off the general light and keep only the low lamps on. That is when the room becomes truly comfortable.
- General light: a chandelier or pendant in the centre of the room.
- Task light: a floor lamp beside the armchair or sofa, for reading and conversation.
- Ambient light: a table lamp on a sideboard or console, for soft, low light in the evening.
Warm, yellow and soft light
Warm light is light close in tone to an old incandescent bulb or a candle; on today's bulbs, look for 2700K or lower. Soft light passes through a shade of opal, frosted glass or fabric and does not glare.
This is where antique lamps excel: opaline, frosted and amber glass shades diffuse the light and warm its tone before you even choose a bulb.
A floor lamp for the living room
A floor lamp is the simplest way to add light to a seating area without new wiring. Choose one about 150 to 170 cm tall, so the shade sits just above the eye level of someone seated. An arched floor lamp such as our floor lamp with an opaline shade brings the light over the armchair.
A lamp that is also a design piece
A hand-painted shade or a cameo-glass lamp catches the eye even when it is off. More ideas in our article on an antique lamp in a designed home.
Looking for a living-room lamp? Send a photo of the room and we'll suggest what fits
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