While most of our rooms are designed for specific tasks - cooking, eating, washing, sleeping - the living room accommodates a wide range of activities, unique to each person.
Depending on the day, time, or season, this is where we entertain friends and family, relax, curl up with a good book on the couch, and watch our favorite shows while snacking.
This multi-use space needs carefully planned lighting , whether it's highlighting family photos and artwork on the walls or providing ample light when your kids are doing their homework.
To help you avoid some of the most common mistakes, we've rounded up a few with simple tips to help you fix them.
1. Choosing a light fixture size that is unsuitable for your living room
This is one of the most common lighting mistakes . And it's very easy to do: you fall in love with a light fixture to place in the center of the room and you forget to take into account your ceiling height or the size of your dining table in your living room.
So be careful not to let yourself be seduced by this trendy chandelier! Not only will it look disproportionate, but the light it provides will also likely be inadequate to provide the visual comfort required in a living room. This is terribly important, especially when choosing the light fixture that will go above a table where you take your meals.
Here are some rules for determining the size of a light fixture or chandelier above your dining table:
- Make sure the width of the fixture is approximately 30cm smaller than the width of your table.
- If you're choosing the main light fixture for your room, a good rule of thumb is to make sure the diameter of your light fixture is approximately 10% of the total diameter of the room.
2. Install a single light source in a living room space
A statement light fixture can add glamor to your space, but it's important to make sure you have adequate lighting to accomplish all everyday tasks (reading, sewing, doing homework, relaxing, etc.) .
Installing a single light source in a room will most often leave certain parts of the room in darkness, without any light.
Solving this problem involves using layered lighting where you multiply the light sources. This allows you to illuminate areas of your space more comprehensively.
Effective lighting requires multiple layers of lights that complement each other and beautify your space every hour. Learn more about ambient lighting and task lighting to help you choose the right layers.
What you need to keep in mind is this: it is fundamental to multiply the light sources in order to be able to play on your different lighting fixtures depending on the natural light entering the room.
3. Don’t overuse recessed spotlights!
Overuse of recessed spotlights is another common lighting mistake. It's easy to do, especially since the majority of electricians tend to offer them to you systematically, whether for new construction or renovation work.
It's easy to get carried away thinking that this will light up every corner of a room, which ultimately leads to a ceiling covered in spotlights!
However, you should know that to properly illuminate a room, the light must reflect off the walls and ceiling spotlights are not designed for this.
Another disadvantage is that they can also take away any feeling of warmth or friendliness from a room, unlike a beautiful chandelier or an elegant pendant light.
That said, ceiling spotlights are great for providing general ambient light in a room, if you know how to use them sparingly!
Just keep in mind that recessed spotlights won't be enough to provide specific lighting or even accent lighting that highlights a painting on the wall. Fortunately, you have the choice among the large family of lamps suitable for the living room!
4. Lighting for small spaces
The small spaces in your living room, a reading corner, a sofa corner in a niche, should not be neglected. Even if they are small, take advantage of good ideas to highlight them. It's easy to forget about these spaces, as they're not always visible at first glance, but they're some of the most important spaces to light properly, as they're often where you'll enjoy spending the most time. ..
Too often these spaces are lit by a solitary overhead light, which creates shadows and dark areas in the space. While you could place a pretty floor lamp , ideal for reading, a table lamp or even pretty light garlands to add a touch of poetry. In short, in our opinion, small spaces can become real jewels, if you take the time to place the right lighting fixtures .
So pay more attention to these spaces by using things like LED strip lights or under-cabinet lights. They will have a real impact, but more importantly, they will help eliminate shadows and dark areas. These small spaces, if they are well highlighted, will be a real plus in your living room.
5. Choosing the wrong color temperature
We've all done it... Buying a light bulb, installing it in your home, and realizing it's a completely different shade of white than the other light bulbs in your home is extremely frustrating!
Incorrect color temperature is one of the most common lighting mistakes. It's important to set the tone of a space in your home, and this can be done by selecting the right temperature of your light bulbs.
6. Not taking into account the needs of the space to be lit
It's very easy to fall in love with a light fixture that perfectly suits our taste, but without considering its functionality and where it will go. Purchasing a light fixture for purely decorative purposes is another of the most common lighting mistakes.
Consider the needs of your living room, then choose lighting fixtures that will illuminate it appropriately and be in harmony with your decor . A light fixture that provides the wrong type of light can ruin the overall aesthetic of a room, as can a light fixture that doesn't match your decor.
Our best advice: talk to a lighting expert about your needs. And if you find a fixture that you're in love with, but it doesn't suit you, ask if they can find you something similar.
A lighting specialist can usually find more than they have in stock.
And otherwise take a look at our selection of trendy lighting according to your style and your desires
