How to light a living room
Designing a living room is a very important job to get right as we spend so much more time in them than most rooms in the house. Add in to the mix that we'll use them at various points of the day and the question of how to light your living room becomes something of a conundrum.
How to light a living room
There are many (many) options for lighting a sitting room but you'll want to consider various options for all manner of occasions. Family movie nights need minimal lighting, bar a soft glow to allow everyone to locate their glass of wine and snacks, but a dinner party with drinks on the sofa beforehand will want some soft, glowy lighting. Reading happens in living rooms and will require task lighting and if you have a young family, you'll need better lighting in the day for playtime, homework and the like.
First things first, there is not really any need for overhead lighting in a living room, unless you plan on using it a lot in the daytime with children or it's north facing and you want to work in it and need an abundance of light. Of course, you can add in a statement lighting piece in the centre of the ceiling if you'd like, but for actually lighting the room, it won't be pretty. However, one thing you can do, as Andrew Molyneux, co-founder of art lighting specialists TM Lighting, explains “is use directional downlights in the ceiling set around the perimeter of the room to shine light onto walls, paintings or curtains and minimise glare.” This will cast a softer light than anything directly overhead, and can be seen in the Rachel Chudley-designed living room below, where four brass lights point into the corners of the room to diffuse light.
In a living room, lamps are where to focus your attention. Lamps are the most useful type of light source for any sitting room, as they can be placed strategically – and moved – to light distinct areas, such as by or behind a sofa, or over a reading chair. Most sitting rooms on the pages of House & Garden will feature a plethora of lamps in different spots and there is one crucial thing you'll need for this sort of lighting scheme: a 5 amp circuit. “For a lighting scheme that uses a lot of lamps a 5-amp circuit is vital,” confirms Clare Gaskin. She continues that “having one wall switch to control all your table and floor lamps gives the option to adjust the mood. Dimmer switches allow you to have a well-lit space for a task and low-lit spaces for relaxing.” If you need further convincing, Philip Hooper agrees in his dos and don'ts of decorating column.
If you already have your electrics sorted and can't get an electrician in to rewire your living room onto such a circuit, Octavia Dickinson has a workaround: “often for clients who don’t have a 5 AMP circuit and who don’t want to do the rewiring, I buy these amazing lamp remotes from Amazon – you plug each lamp into them (they are numbered) and use the remote to turn them on and off, so you don’t need to go round each lamp.”
The other option to consider are wall lights. These make most sense when framing something – a fireplace, mirror or large painting all work – but that doesn't have to limit you. You could choose to use wall lights on each side of the sofa, layered with table lamps for different circumstances, or, as Henriette von Stockhausen has in the example above, choose wall lights on extendable arms that can act as reading lights when pulled closer to a chair. Wall lights can also be wired onto bookshelves, a nifty trick, as Jo Mann, founder and design director at Light House Designs, explains: “lighting joinery, such as bookshelves, looks lovely and brings a different dimension to a scheme.”
If you have many lamps in your living room already but want the decorative touch a wall light offers – or simply do not want to rewire the room to chase a cable into the wall – then opt for candle sconces. These cast the prettiest, most dynamic light in the evenings and are the prettiest light source there is.
Christopher Horwood1/13It's notoriously challenging to successfully light a large, historic house. The room needs sufficient light to highlight its scale and detail, but not too much that it loses its dynamics or zoning. Hatta Byng's drawing room masters it perfectly, with beautiful lamps at various heights and placed symmetrically bringing a smattering of warmth onto every surface. The ornate wall lights pick up on the gilded mirror at the centre of the room, whilst the pale plaster lamps by Viola Lanari are more organic in form and texture.
Christopher Horwood2/13In the downstairs snug of this north London townhouse, designer Rachael Gowdridge created a cosy corner with an oversized L-shaped sofa and a shearling armchair by Jørgen Bækmark. The retractable wall lamp is from Sigmar London, which ties in with the earthy tones in the oil painting on the wall and creates a distinct lighting zone in the corner.
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Paul Massey3/13This cosy basement living room - in a townhouse designed by Cave Interiors - doesn't have any ceiling spots, instead relying on a standard lamp and wall light to create a romantic, dimly lit atmosphere in an already space that already lacks natural light. The conical shape of the vintage Italian floor lamp neatly coordinates with the wall light to add continuity and flow. The wall light can also be swung on an arm to adjust the positioning.
Dean Hearne4/13The anglepoise wall lights in Nicola Mardas' cosy cottage in Deal are fresh and practical in an otherwise bold and colourful living room. The corner positioning also allows the corner to become a cosy nook, sectioning off the rest of the room.
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Christopher Horwood5/13The yellow living room of this small London flat glows gold in the evening, lit by an array of light sources around the room, from candles on the mantlepiece to an austere ceiling candelabrum in the centre of the room. The lamp in the far corner of the room is from Holt Antiques paired with a Nushka shade.
Paul Massey6/13We're huge fans of candle sconces here at House & Garden, and in this airy London flat by Virginia Howard there are some near-perfect examples on the wall above the sofa, in the shape of Cox London’s ‘Hanbury’ lights. These are wired for electric candle lights, so no need to worry about dripping wax.
Jonathan Bond7/13Interior designer Elizabeth Hay's thatched cottage in Devon boasts this gloriously colourful sitting room. The existing bookshelves were repainted in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Aquatic’, which complements the sofa upholstered in Le Manach’s ‘Mortefontaine’ cotton in bleu vert from Pierre Frey. Above it, antique brass sconces flank a landscape painting by William George Gillies from Jenna Burlingham.
Milo Brown8/13Mid-century Spanish wall lights echo the red of the woodwork in this Lonika Chande project, where a ceiling light with a Pinch shade adds a focal point.
Mikey Reed Photography9/13In her airy flat in north London, designer Alice Davies has layered every type of lighting with a huge ceiling light that emphasises the height of the room, table lamps, a floor lamp and pretty wall lights.
Jake Curtis10/13In her basement flat in west London, interior designer Thea Speke has created a masterclass in lightening and brightening a potentially gloomy space with wall lights framing an artwork and strategically-placed lamps.
Mark Anthony Fox11/13Interior designer Charlotte Boundy has brought warmth and colour (courtesy of a few dream moodboards) to her house in Shepherds Bush. Candle sconces frame the mirror, while lamps provide the rest of the lighting. On the right is a lampshade from Nushka Interiors.
Jake Curtis12/13Adam Bray and his team set about transforming this London flat – created from two one-bedroom flats joined together – with rich colour and luxurious fabrics. A silk wallcovering from de Gournay provides a dark background for a pair of Twenties French dining chairs. The wall lights draw the eyes towards the impressive art work, working as a frame around the frame, and separating the seating area from the dining table.
Michael Sinclair13/13Designer Patrick Williams has carefully transformed this eighteenth-century house in Bath into a welcoming home. These delicately coloured table lamps pick up the green of the walls, drawing the room together, and making the sofa and desk comfortable places to read. The shell-shaped uplighting on the bookshelves also shows off his collection and adds interest to the room.
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