Kā apgaismot dzīvojamo istabu: lampu veidi, triki un kļūdas, no kurām jāizvairās

How to illuminate the living room: lamp types, tricks and mistakes to avoid.

The living room is the main living are of the home, as the name suggests, it is the most used area of the house. When we talk about living rooms the reference is precisely to the classic definition of “living room”, that is, a domestic environment dedicated to receiving guests, relaxing, chatting and various other activities.

Given the importance of this space, it is therefore equally important to choose lighting suitable for the living room which, in effect, is also an integral part of the overall furnishing of the house.
First of all, it is important to consider aspects such as the structure and dimensions of the room for which one could opt for a layered lighting approach, as well as the possibility of making this space bright thanks to other elements that complement and work in conjunction to traditional lamps. Wall, ceiling or otherwise.
Finally, some mistakes to avoid in order to not negatively affect the overall lighting of the living room.

How to illuminate the living room: a layered approach

Based on the multitasking nature of living room, among the many ideas on how to illuminate the living room it would be good to select those most suitable for the tasks required in all of the different activities. In this sense, lighting the living room on several layers is a solution capable of satisfying needs of various kinds.

You can think of equipping the room with a general light source (diffused, indirect or backlighting), an "intermediate" and one or more accent lights, so called because their task is precisely to illuminate a specific space, with a rather narrow beam of light. The choice of combining ceiling lamps with wall and floor lamps is therefore a simple example of a layered approach to lighting and allows the lighting of the living room to be modulated according to different needs and situations.

A typical example includes in a ceiling light as a “foundation” or a floor lamp, able to radiate its light beam to the entire room: with a weak contrast, this indirect light creates the suitable environment for a broad range of activities. The Gemo P is suitable for this application as it radiates it's light all around and diffuses it, creating a warm, soft light.

At the same time, the inclusion of more niche lights, such as wall lamps that guarantee more direct lighting, must be installed in such a way as to complement the style of the main ceiling light, whether it is modern, vintage or otherwise.

The third and final role of the layered approach to lighting is the choice of a table lamp that could perform a more specific function, for example illuminating a reading corner or a chess table. A lamp such as the Oyster from Forestier is a lamp that looks good both on and off, acting like a decoration when it's not needed and a practical light source when on.

How to illuminate the living room: lamps and other tricks

If your home has a large living room designed to take in natural light, instead of it being a more dim environment with few windows, it is possible to take advantage of some tricks that will allow you to make this area really bright despite the architecture.

First of all, picking the right curtains: if you think you cannot decorate your home without this piece of soft furnishing, it is important to opt for fabrics that are capable of letting natural light penetrate inside, even better if in light colors and with textured instead of graphics.

It is no secret that picking light colors for your walls in the living room contributes greatly to the overall feeling of brightness and size of the space. At the same time, however, the selection of the right tones for cushions or rugs also plays an important role for this effect, as well as contributing to an overall clean and organized look of the environment. This - we would like to clarify it - does not mean that we can’t use light colors in a room, far from it. It is simply important to calibrate them properly.

To compliment the lighting of a modern living room there are also glass doors. An internal window that can be very important, also allowing you to determine a sort of composition with the adjacent rooms, as well as giving an elegant and modern appearance to the entire home. You just have to choose the one you like the most and best suits your home: and that is not a problem, the market offers numerous alternatives, from the most classic doors with a wooden base and equipped with glass in the upper part, up to very modern doors made entirely in crystal.

A decorative element capable of playing with the feeling of depth of the spaces and at the same time reflecting the light, reflecting a lot of brightness to the environment, are mirrors. Very large or smaller, wall-mounted or placed on the ground for a more informal or bohemian environment, also they represent a good design choice and the lighting of your living room will benefit positively. By combining the two elements, you get a lamp such as the CIRC Wall light from Estiluz.

Lastly, we can’t forget to include classic lamps, either on the wall or on the ceiling, as well as on the floor. Adequate artificial lighting, in fact, is the only element that, once darkness falls, can give us the feeling of being in broad daylight, which is amplified by the aforementioned accents.

Ideas for lighting the living room: mistakes to avoid

Finally, we want to dedicate a small paragraph to all those ideas on how to illuminate the living room that, in reality, should be completely avoided. In fact, there are some commonly made mistakes that could compromise the success of your home’s lighting, annoying or worse, can ruin the whole mood for you and your potential guests.

First: it is absolutely necessary to avoid overly bright light sources because it could, in fact, lead to damage of eye-sight. The same is true for the exact opposite - for levels of light that are too low.

Second: avoid installing lighting in the living room that points directly towards the sofa, dazzling anyone who unfortunately decides to sit down for a bit of relaxation. For this purpose, it would be perfect to instead use soft LED lights, that illuminate the environment indirectly, in turn this would improve the atmosphere and not shower you or your guests in light at a place that is meant for rest. The hillow line can mark corners of the house and illuminate your walls with style, which is why it's our pick for a perfect indirect light.

Third: when you decide to furnish the environment with different, mix-matched colors, it is not advised to use colored lights since it could lead to you creating an unpleasant and messy/crowded environment. Therefore, opt for light sources with more neutral tones, able to create a sort of balance with the context, like an assortment of cool lights for a modern get-together or warm lights for a calm and relaxing night with tea.

Fourth and last point: if, unlike the previous case, furniture in your living room is dominated by white colours and tones, a very wise idea for illuminating the living room is to play with light and shadows , in such a way as to give a certain character to the whole environment by creating new angles and completely new looks to the furniture depending on what you have on.

Now that you have some bases on which to "work" from, it's up to you to decide which solution you think is best suited to the illumination of your modern living room. Each can be considered the optimal choice based on the peculiar characteristics and style that governs the apartment, therefore it is advisable to dedicate some time and reflection to determine if, indeed, it is the right one for you.