Light the Room: 15 Mouth Dropping Living Room Lighting Ideas

Our choices in the way we light a room have more of an impact than you might think.

Studies have shown that just the lighting in a room can have an effect on our mood and emotions. Lighting can intensify or pacify our feelings.

Take some control over the way the lighting in your living room makes you feel.

Start with these 15 living room lighting ideas, and think about what can work for your space.

1. Creating Layers of Light

Layers of light in the room means multiple sources of light located throughout the room that cast light in different directions. The purpose of ambient lighting is to fill the space. You don’t want to leave any dark corners or shadows behind your furniture.

To accomplish this, you can use combinations of any of the ideas listed below. But to do it right you’ll need to consider how the placement of each light source works together.

If you do it right, your hard work will actually go unnoticed. Your guests will just be comfortable in a space with convenient and functional lighting.

People spend time in the living room, as guests, and in their own house. That’s why, when you’re selling your house, this is one of the three most important rooms to prep before showing.

2. Best Styles for Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting is set back into a surface. the plastic or metallic casing will rest nearly flush with the ceiling.

This is a great option for a living room with limited space, especially low ceilings. It’s also nice because it allows for a subtle, even minimalist look. You could install several recessed lights into your ceiling without drawing any attention to them.

White paint with a glossy texture reflects the most light and makes the most of your recessed lighting. But recessed lighting is also very versatile.

The placement of your recessed lights doesn’t necessarily need to be evenly spaced. You can align them however you want.

Consider wiring different sections to different switches. Also, consider dimmers to adjust the character of the room at any time.

3. Highlighting Architecture and Furnishings

You’re lucky if you have a living room with elaborate ceiling architecture. Or a home with historic, decorative molding around the doorframes, fireplace, and mantelpiece. This kind of detailed architecture can become an amazing focus when it’s lit.

Strip lighting, lining any of these features can be a great way to highlight them. You can also spotlight them with wall mounted spotlights or well-angled track lighting.

4. Creative Track Lighting

Track lighting is a practical and stylish alternative to recessed lighting. They work especially well in a living room with high ceilings.

Track lights are a series of spotlights hanging down on a single track. Although you can have more than one track in your living room. Usually, that will be two tracks running parallel.

Try positioning lights on each track in opposite directions. Or get creative and position each light in at its own angle.

You can get even more creative and use track lighting in different shapes. Such as an L shaped track, or even a curved S shape.

5. How to use Sconces

Sconces are lighting fixtures mounted on the wall, instead of being hung from the ceiling.

They are usually positioned close to eye level. Depending on your preference, you can get a sconce with a lampshade or a plastic or glass diffuser to soften the light.

They’ll often appear in pairs in the living room unless one is hung beside the door frame. You might see a pair of sconces on either side of the fireplace, or at the edges of the mantelpiece. This helps establish the focal point of the room.

They may be the perfect alternative to your overhead lighting when dimmer, accent light sources are better for the mood. When you want to get cozy, shut off the overhead spotlights.

Many sconces are designed to be more decorative rather than functional. The style comes from the old look of wall mounted oil lamps. You can easily find a sconce in the old fashioned style if that’s what matches your decor.

6. Ways to Use Firelight and Candlelight

The light that’s moving, such as a flame, is called kinetic lighting. Candlelight or a lit fireplace can add warmth and ambiance to the room. And nothing sets a romantic mood better.

Consider wall mounted candles, each candle on its own small candle shelf. Or suspend an assortment of different sized white candles from the ceiling on a circular tray.

7. Chandeliers

Chandeliers simply have multiple lights on the same hanging unit. Your chandelier will almost always be the centerpiece of a living room with high ceilings. Of course, there are many different styles to choose from.

You can definitely find a more modest chandelier, but this is a chance to create a focal point with an eye-catching chandelier. Maybe go with a mobile design with different directional lights, even a chandelier with horizontal and up-lighting involved.

8. What Accent Lighting Can Do

Accent lights highlight certain objects in the room or draw the eye to the lamp itself.

These can be ceiling or wall mounted, or standing lamps. As long as the light cast is directional and somewhat focused.

Consider highlighting the interior of your shelving unit with light strips on the underside of each shelf. You can accomplish this easily by installing strip lighting, like that offered by Birddog Lighting.

9. Amplify Light with Decorative Mirrors

Most of us wish we had a wall of floor to ceiling windows to bring as much natural light into the living room as possible. You can simulate that feeling to some degree by hanging large, decorative mirrors that resemble windows.

A tall mirror, reaching nearly from floor to ceiling if possible, is a wonderful accessory for the right room. Hang two in the same room to make the space both larger and brighter.

Another idea is to back your mantelpiece with a wide mirror for a similar effect. Mirrors really amplify the light in a room significantly.

10. Placing Floor Lamps

Any light source that plugs into an outlet has both pros and cons.

Floor lamps can be added to your living room without the need to call an electrician, as you probably would when installing recessed lighting. It’s a good option, especially if you’re remodeling on a budget.

One floor lamp can be a nice little accent in the room. It’s also a great way to bring light to a corner of the room that isn’t hit well enough from other sources.

11. Table Lamps

Consider incorporating one or two lamps that stand on other surfaces. You’re going to want a separate light source at any work area, like a desk if there’s one in the room. But just about any surface in a low enough position, and with enough space will work, even shelves.

You have many different options to choose from. If there’s a floor lamp in the room, it’ll be a good look to match your table lamp to that.

12. Fan Lights

These are lighting fixtures attached to your ceiling fan. One unit with two functions. And the function is the main reason you’ll want this for your living room.

It’s best to get a ceiling fan and light in one. It’s always awkward to get that strobe effect when the backlight of another ceiling light is obstructed by the moving blades.

You can get a fan light with a single, dome-shaped lighting fixture, or one with three or more lights on arms extending below the fan.

13. When Pendant Lighting Works

Pendant lights always come to mind when lighting a room with high ceilings, but it can also work in a less spacious living room.

A thin pendant can hang above a small end table to create accent area lighting.

14. Paper Lanterns

This is a fun and inviting option for a living room with a creative look, not usually for a room with any kind of formal decor.

You’ll usually see the paper lantern as a large spherical centerpiece in the room. They’re also commonly cylindrical or boxy. The paper can be cut with slits in a pattern or other design for a more decorative look.

15. Finding Balance

The ambient lighting in your room should be balanced. Even if you’re using accent lighting, it can be balanced with symmetry.

Consider how well the room is balanced with the placement of the light fixtures and lamps themselves. Then also think about how well the light they cast is balanced.

Making the Best Living Room Lighting Ideas a Reality

Choose the best living room lighting ideas from this list based on what will really work in your space. And think about what the next steps will be for you to make these improvements to your home.

As you’re improving your home, you should be thinking about how you’re affecting its value as well.