Living room lighting ideas

Living rooms are where you’re going to spend the majority of your time, so it makes sense to invest in some good lighting.

Lighting for living rooms – top tips for living room lighting

Transform an alcove

If you have inset shelves in your living room, making a feature out of them with lighting is a great idea. You can get battery-powered lights if you don’t want to invest in wiring in new lights.

Style your alcove shelves with trendy accessories and artwork, which your new light will perfectly frame.

Don’t be scared of pattern

It’s easy to see lighting as an afterthought. However, how you choose to light your living room can change the feel of the entire space.

If colour and pattern are your thing, ditch the metal lights and opt for fabric lampshades instead. This can work for ceiling lights, wall lights, floor lamps and table lamps.

Layer your lighting

Layering your lighting is ideal for those that like to change the look and feel of their living room. A ceiling light is perfect for when you want downlighting and to see clearly.

However, on an evening you may want your living room to feel more relaxed and romantic, you can use table or task lamps.

Add drama

Be bold with your choice of lighting and opt for a dramatic ceiling light. An oversized shade will be the focal point of the room, or why not opt for a cluster light with multiple bulbs?

Choose a vintage design

Rather than always shopping new for your lighting, explore your local second hand and vintage shops instead.

More elaborate designs are now back in fashion so you might find your perfect pairing.

Brighten up dark corners

Dark corners can make a living room feel dingy and uninspiring. Brighten up these lost spaces with a light (or two) and make it into a feature.

Place an occasional chair, floor lamp and side table in a corner of your living room to create a cosy reading nook.

Add fairy lights

Don’t underestimate the power of fairy lights! These are perfect for a cosy night in. Simply drape fairy lights around the top of your walls to create a picture rail effect.

Another idea is to use pegs to hang them horizontally back and forth on a wall and to clip your favourite Polaroid photos to them.

Swap out your light bulbs

Change your light bulbs to smart light bulbs to have more control over your living room lighting. Not only can these be voice-activated and be turned on or off when you’re not around, but you can also control the strength and colour of the lighting.

Sculptural lighting

If you’ve got a modern home design then choosing lighting that doubles as a sculptural ornament is a great tip.

Don’t let your living room lighting take away from the style of your room and make it be a part of it instead.

Ceiling lights for living room

Ceiling lights are often the main source of light for a living room. You can either choose to make a statement with your ceiling light with a bold pendant design or perhaps you’d like to opt for more of a sleek design with spotlights.

Pendant lights

Pendant lighting is a popular choice for living rooms, as they come in lots of fun and stylish designs to suit your personal taste.

Industrial-style lights are a trendy choice for contemporary homes, contrasting raw wood and metal. Alternatively, for a Scandi-inspired living room, you may want to go for a more simplistic design.

Spotlights

Spotlights are the ideal option for a fuss-free, sleek living room design.

They are a versatile lighting solution that can also be very economical. They are perfect for lighting the entire room.

LED strip lights

Strip lights are ultra-modern and will only suit certain living rooms. A great way of using LED strip lights is to fit them behind your TV so it makes a feature out of it and creates a cinema effect.

If you’re into your smart tech, then LED lights will be perfect for you as you’ll be able to change the colour and brightness with a click of a button.

Cluster lighting

Add a dose of elegance to your living room with a stand out cluster light design.

A cluster light has multiple pendant lights coming off it and hangs from the ceiling.

Chandeliers

Probably the most timeless lighting option for a living room is the chandelier.

A chandelier never goes out of fashion and definitely moves with the times. Of course, there are many styles available from more traditional ornate lights to modern LED varieties.

Living room wall lights

A few years back, wall lights would have been seen as outdated and old fashioned. However, now they are definitely back with a bang.

Wall lights are becoming more and more of a popular choice for stylish living rooms across the UK.

Uplight wall fixtures

Pick wall lights that face upwards and create an uplight if you want to evenly disperse the light in your living room and create a soft effect.

Down wall light

Downward-facing wall lights are a fantastic way of creating a spotlight effect. Hang a piece of artwork below a wall light to bring style and drama.

Alternatively, hang two wall lights either side of a mirror or TV to create a focal point.

Sconce lighting

Sconce wall lighting is a wall-mounted fixture that traditionally held candles or torches but nowadays holds a lightbulb. They are often ornate and feel traditional in their appearance.

Sconce wall lights would suit a period property or a living room that is inspired by retro interiors.

Living room floor lighting

Floor lamps are a great addition to a living room and offer a softer alternative to traditional ceiling lights.

As with most lighting, there are lots of different styles of floor lamps. Our top tip is to place them in a darker corner of a room to illuminate it and to produce a sense of ambience.

Club floor lamp

A club floor lamp is the most ordinary form of floor lighting that you’ll see. It’s a stick lamp design with a shade, perfect for area lighting.

A club floor lamp usually has a three-way socket or twin socket operated by a pull change or switch.

Tripod lamp

As the name suggests, a tripod lamp is a floor light that has three legs, a free-standing base that attaches to a bulb or shade.

These are a great choice for modern industrial-style homes.

Curved floor lamp

A lot of designer lighting brands have exaggerated curved floor lamp designs. However, if your budget doesn’t stretch this far, there are many cheaper alternatives that you can pick up from the high street.

Place a curved floor lamp in the corner of a room and let it curve over a chair or sofa. This makes for a really interesting living room feature.

Tree lamp

A tree lamp is another way of describing a floor lamp that has multiple lights fitted to it. They create beautiful atmospheric lighting and are ideal for a living space.

Swing arm lamp

A practical option for your living is a swing arm lamp. This means the top half of the floor lamp is moveable and can be adjusted to shine light wherever you want it.

Place in the corner of two sofas so you can change the position of your lighting whenever you please.

Table lamps for living room

Table lamps can be used as task lighting to make you focus on one part of a room or on a particular piece of furniture, a desk for example.

Paired with ceiling or wall lights, table lamps can offer a different type of ambient lighting that feels calming and relaxing in the evening.

Task lamps

Often described as a desk lamp, a task lamp acts as a spotlight to focus on one thing.

They are great to pop on a desk in the corner of a living room or a side table.

Ceramic base lamps

Add bundles of personality to your living room with a unique ceramic base lamp.

Whether it is plain or boasts an intricate pattern, a ceramic lamp is utterly timeless and will immediately add interest to any space.

Wireless table lamps

Opt for a wireless lamp for your living room if you want to move it around to different areas at different times.

Cordless table lamps often use a rechargeable battery to power them, meaning you don’t have to buy new batteries each time they run out.

LED table lamps

LED lamps are energy-saving and a great option for lessening the carbon footprint of your home.

They also last much longer than regular light bulbs so are a great cost-saving option too.

Feeling inspired? Get in touch with an electrician to help light your living room.