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How to Choose and Place Light Fixtures for Cozy Living Room Lighting

It doesn’t matter if you have a fancy lighting project, or just want to change some annoying light fixtures in your living room, a well planned lighting layout will make all the difference.

In this article you will discover how to use each type of light fixture in living rooms, And find out some possible ways to transform your space without having to do a major renovation.

As you read, leave this article on types of light fixtures open. Refer to it whenever you are not familiar with a fixture name.

How many light fixtures should your living room have?

The first step is deciding which parts of the room should be lit up.

If you have a single light source in the center of the ceiling, it’s harder to create a cozy atmosphere. That’s because you’ll need a strong light to illuminate the whole room with a single lamp.

For a cozy room, try spreading many less intense lights around the room.

Start by figuring out which points in the room need direct light. That is, a point that needs at least one light source focused directly on it without obstruction.

In living rooms, these points are usually located around the room, by the walls or on the them: tables with objects, reading armchairs, bookcases, sideboards, paintings. All those points where it’s important to see what’s on them.

In the rest of the room, where there is no need for direct light, you need indirect or diffuse lighting.

That is, on sofas, armchairs, and in the middle of the room, the light you need is to see the room as a whole, but this light does not have to be strong and direct. On the contrary, if not, it’s more cozy.

Diffused light uses an element spreading the light, such as a dome, between the light source and the lit area.

Indirect light is turned to another surface instead of the area to be illuminated. For example, a lamp facing the ceiling. The light reflects off the ceiling and indirectly illuminates the entire room.

How can you improve your living room lighting?

Have you chosen the spots to be directly lit up in your living room? Good, now let’s look at some strategies you can use to create direct and indirect light.

Once you place a number of fixtures throwing direct light to the points you have decided that need it, you have two options.

If the same fixtures that throw direct light to specific places also indirectly light the rest of the room, and you find them enough, you don’t need any extra fixtures.

In case you need more luminosity, you can supplement the points of direct light with an indirect light source.

You may also want to have a more diffuse, less intense lighting option. It also creates a nice effect enhancing ceiling materials and wall coverings.

Let’s see examples of living rooms with different combinations of direct and indirect light sources, and how to install them.

Ceiling light fixtures for living room lighting

Let’s start taking a look at your options for types of ceiling fixtures.

Recessed lights in false ceiling

One of the most common ways to distribute several light points is making a false ceiling. It hides the wiring and allows you to embed lights anywhere you like.

In the living room above a false ceiling with recessed lights was enough for the ambient light, dispensing with the need for a complementary indirect light source.

Tables, shelves and paintings receive direct light from these sources, positioned right above them. The rest of the room gets enough luminosity from the same lights.

Recessed lights in false ceiling + LED tapes in moldings

In this living room, the ambient lighting is reinforced by an LED light strip inset into the rim of the false ceiling.

Although strong, it doesn’t bother the eyes because it is facing the ceiling. This is indirect lighting: the light hits the ceiling before illuminating the room, and the light source is not visible.

Besides from increasing ambient luminosity, the LED can be turned on independently for a milder light. It also enhances the concrete texture of the ceiling slab.

Track lights

A false ceiling is not necessary to spread light points on the ceiling. The use of tracks or exposed conduit on apparent ceiling slab, as in the photo above, gives the room an industrial look.

This solution makes the build cheaper by eliminating the false ceiling.

Because it’s a narrow corridor, no light fixture was needed for ambient lighting besides from the points of direct light.

Ceiling or pendant light

If you don’t want to renovate or spend a lot, the best choice is a really cool ceiling or pendant light installed at the existing point on the ceiling slab.

As all the luminosity will come from a single point on the ceiling, look for a fixture with diffuse or indirect light. In the living room above, a paper dome hides the bulb and diffuses the light, producing a cozier light.

Another way to avoid the main fixture to be too bright is getting a less intense bulb for it and complement it with other fixtures plugged into existing outlets. We’ll see options for that in the next section.

No ceiling light

Just as you can have a room with only points of direct light, you can have only indirect light sources as well.

If you don’t need focused light in any point of the room, don’t worry about it. Invest in strong indirect light, preferably dimmable, so you can see everything well lit when necessary, or make the room more cozy with milder light.

In the case above, the lighting is done by LED tape embedded in the tops of the cabinets and shelves. The existing ceiling fixtures were eliminated.

Complementary light fixtures for living room lighting

Wall sconces

Sconces are excellent options for creating indirect light sources.

Installing them requires opening the wall to embed the wiring (it will make a mess, take a few days and cost a little).

In this case, recessed lights make direct lighting where necessary and the sconces complement ambient lighting.

Wall sconces plugged into outlets

If you like the effect of the sconces, but don’t want any renovation, there are models with wires to plug into an outlet.

Take a look at the position of the outlets in your living room and consider how it would look to place a sconce near to them.

In the room above, the pendant light throws direct light to the dining table and the wall sconce complements ambient lighting.

Table and floor lights

Table and floor lamps are another beautiful option for indirect light. Their advantage is that they don’t require any renovation.

Above, track lights directly light the paintings and bookcases, and table and floor lamps complement ambient lighting.

If you’re renovating, you can connect the outlets for these lights with switches on convenient positions on walls, allowing you to turn them on and off like a fixed light source.

See how many possibilities you have to improve your living room lighting? Spending more or less, with or without a renovation, its totally worth spending time to choose and position the perfect light fixtures. Have you decided what your strategy will be?

To complete your lighting project, learn how to choose light bulbs and read about lighting up the bedroom, dining room, bathroom, kitchen and laundry room.