Ceiling lights and ready? There’s nothing there! The living room only becomes comfortable with the right lighting.
We want to make ourselves completely comfortable in the living room. With a beautiful sofa, matching side table and plush rug. However, in the end, there is something else that is crucial to the feel-good factor: lighting! Too bright lights, too few light sources – you can make a few mistakes here. It only becomes harmonious when you combine atmospheric and functional light. we give a few tips about proper lighting.
One or maximum two practical lamps in the living room – that may be enough for everyday purposes. But the living room is a multitasker’s place, not only as a place to welcome guests, but also as a place for people to relax, read, play and watch TV. Lots of space, lots of needs – comprehensive lighting required! “Atmospheric lighting relates to a combination of ceiling lights, wall lights and floor lights. “It’s all about the right mix,”.
Are there any basic rules for lighting planning?
“The most beautiful thing is always a combination of three kinds of light: light to see, light to see, and light to see,”. Light should generally make you bright, attract attention and illuminate certain areas or be beautiful to look at. So far, so simple.
But how do you do it at home? “First ask yourself a general question: is there a suspended ceiling? What are the walls like? Where is which furniture? “Is there a lot of people reading here, or are there several activities going on at the same time?”
You then have to think about the surface and the level of gloss and reflectivity. What should sparkle and what shouldn’t? “This information should certainly be included in the lighting planning.”
Ceiling lighting: light to see
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t make sense to simply hang a ceiling light in the center of the ceiling for functional general lighting. “The light would just disappear there. “Light needs a surface to shine on it,” says the expert. Of course, exceptions prove the rule: sometimes an impressive chandelier in the middle of a room can be a bright spot! – and was then considered more as a decorative “light to look at” than as general lighting.
For ceiling lights or spotlights, you can use a stronger light source. The warm white light from LED or low-voltage halogen lamps illuminates the room brightly, casting almost no shadows, but does not create any atmospheric accents – ideal for cleaning or other practical purposes!
General lighting checklist
through the ceiling and if necessary. Lamp or wall point
stronger luminosity
Illuminates everything evenly, almost no shadows, no islands of light
“replaces” daylight
not used as permanent lighting, but lit for a specific purpose
Wall lamps: light to look at and be seen in
Fixed wall lights can also function as general lighting and also provide decorative accents. “With wall lamps you can create many lighting situations – producing light that makes you look and see,”. The higher you install a wall lamp, the brighter the ceiling will be, so you can do without a ceiling lamp if necessary. If you install wall lights at approximately head height, they will provide a standout decorative light.
But be careful: If you use a fixed wall lamp, you won’t be able to install a cupboard or hang pictures in that place later. “Before installing, always ask yourself if you would rather use the walls for something else,” says the expert.
Depending on the height, you can use stronger lights. If the wall lamp is placed lower than 1.80 meters, you should choose a warm white light that is softer and less glare.
By the way: Light directed evenly on the walls makes the room appear more open and spacious! You can achieve this effect with a rotating floor lamp, or with spotlights on a system of cables and rods or electric rails.
Freckles: light to look at
In this example, ceiling spotlights also specifically highlight the artwork and create interesting islands of light.
Floor and table lamps: light to look at and look at
Rooms used for multiple purposes should be equipped with other light sources besides bright general lighting – these sources create atmosphere, but also create targeted islands of light, for example in reading corners. “They are interesting objects that provide additional light,”.
There is no ideal location for a floor lamp in a room; it depends on the overall goal and concept. “The lamp can be placed near the sofa or near other furniture,”.
With shades exposed at the top – or, as here, with bare lights – you can simultaneously throw light up to the ceiling and do without skylights, which are usually too bright and not very atmospheric. If you use a floor lamp as a reading lamp, the light source should not be too strong or too weak. After all, you don’t want to fall asleep while reading a book or feel like you’re in the dentist’s chair, do you?
Atmospheric light can best be created with lots of small, decorative lights, which don’t necessarily have to serve a specific purpose (like reading lights). Floor lamps are also a classic example.
“Again, make sure that various light sources, such as table or floor lamps, are arranged in such a way that they do not cause glare,”. Ideally, lights should be dimmable and flexible, “so you can always adjust the lighting to your mood and needs,” says the expert.
If you also use the living room to watch TV, you should always turn on other – non-reflective – lights in the room. Because too big a brightness difference between the screen and the rest of the room makes your eyes tired!
Either you use indirect lighting directly behind the television, bathing the wall in soft light, or you place a small dimmable table lamp on the sideboard.
Important to note :
Easy to look at
mostly through decorative floor, floor and table lamps
Positioned according to the room, it only lights up or turns off certain areas
Make it glare free!
Light for “seeing” does not necessarily have a practical function, but rather creates an atmosphere
ideally dimmable
Stay flexible
Ideally, you have all types of lights in your living room; Although there is not always a clear either/or. For example, “see” and “see” do not exist independently; A floor lamp can look good, be an object of lighting, but still be useful as a practical reading lamp. And the versatile lamp model allows for several scenarios: the spotlight in this Berlin apartment can be used as accent lighting to highlight works of art, but can also be converted into a functional reading lamp for a sofa or work desk.