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The living room is the most versatile room in your house. It’s where you entertain guests, play games, watch movies, read, and even fall asleep on the couch binging your favorite shows. With all the various activities that take place in your living room, a variety of different kinds of lights carefully positioned will help you get the most out of this most important space. As always, layered lighting is key. Making the best use of ambient, task, decorative, and accent lighting will bring out the best in your living room and make it a pleasant place to be at all hours of the day.

Natural light

There’s really no substitute for natural light in the living room. Large windows, sheer curtains, skylights, and even sliding doors can make your space feel light and airy. An abundance of natural light can also help cut down on lighting bills since you won’t need to use artificial light to illuminate your room. Of course it’s not possible to count on natural light for everything. Eventually the sun goes down and you’ll still need to see what you’re doing. That’s where your various lighting layers come in.

Large principal light

Every living room should have one large main light source. Whether that’s a ceiling fan, chandelier, or series of pendant lights, having one main focal point and light source helps give definition to your living room while providing the main source of ambient light. No matter what you decide for your principal light, remember the cardinal rule of lighting any room: layer! Don’t stop at one overhead fixture. Unless you’re lighting a small closet, it will never be enough.

Sconces

If you prefer indirect light to overhead fixtures, wall sconces are a great option. Though they fell out of favor for a few years, they’re now making a comeback. There is no shortage of wall sconce fixtures. From vintage to modern, they run the gamut of styles, finishes, colors, and shade types. Even if you aren’t able to rewire your room to accommodate a traditional wall sconce, there is also an endless supply of plug in sconces that can be mounted by simply affixing them to the wall and plugging them into a nearby outlet.

Shelving and bookcases

Whether you have built-in shelves or movable bookcases, installing LED lighting to highlight the contents of your shelves is a great way to add a layer of accent lighting and call attention to pieces of art, prized possessions, or make books on your shelves easier to find.

Floor and/or table lamps

Another great way to add indirect light to your space is through the use of floor and table lamps. Lamps are very versatile as their shades come in a variety of colors and opacity, controlling the light emitted. Darker shades will direct the light more vertically up toward the ceiling and down on the surface the lamp is sitting on. Lighter shades will allow more light out into the room. Lamps positioned next to chairs and sofas allow for additional task light for reading.

Lighting zones

Similar to kitchens, living rooms are a great place for lighting zones. You can put lamps on outlets controlled by switches, put ceiling fans with lights on dimmers, sconces on different switches from other lights, and lights in built-ins on another switch. Controlling each of these elements separately gives you flexibility for how to light your room for any of the various activities that take place there.

Dimmable lights

Use dimmers in conjunction with your lighting zones. One of the best ways to add complexity and variability to your lights is by adding dimmer switches and installing SunLake’s dimmable LED bulbs. Dimmers will give your room depth by keeping some lights brighter than others.

However you decide to light your space, SunLake Lighting has the LED bulbs you need for the best, cleanest, highest quality LED light. Below are a few of our favorite bulbs for the living room. You can also click here for our full catalog of LED products.