Lighting design for living room

To many people, living room is a space for engaging with guests and unwind after a long day at work, therefore it is important to capture the different lighting elements needed for different functions. As such, it may prove to be quite a tasks for individuals to select the correct luminaires to illuminate living room at different time of the day.

When researching for lights to purchase for your new home, individuals may have come across term like “Lighting Layers”, and may wonder what does it mean and the importance of creating “Lighting Layers’ in a living room.

In this article, we will be exploring the different functions users intend to have, and selecting the correct luminaires needed to serve those functions

Before the selection process for luminaires, users will need to ask themselves: What will they do here? Curl up on the sofa watching television programs? Engaging guest? To unwind after a long day at work? And etc… Hence, it is important to consider the different function and purpose, before coming to a decision on the type of luminaires required.

Let’s take a look at some of the common activities that are normally held in a living room and discuss the different common lighting aspect that users can focus on, namely, General lighting, Accent Lighting, Task Lighting.

Watching television programmes

It is important to note that television give off light on their own, as such it is imperative that your lighting does not cause unnecessary glare that interferes with your favourite shows and hurt your eyes, that ultimately affect your viewing experience.

As glare can come from a wide variety of sources, like a standing lamp without shade or cover, or even downlights being placed directly above a television. Therefore, be sure to position the television away from any direct light source.

General lighting: After demarcating the area that television will be installed at, we can then proceed to position the lights around it. This will ensure that glare is kept to a minimum and not cause unnecessary distraction.

Specialised lighting: Minimum dedicated lighting is required. Table and reading lamps may be placed beside or behind the sofa, so that you are still able to reach out for your phone or remote control.

Spotlight illumination: Accent lighting should be kept to a minimum, as accent lighting usually emit strong and intense light source that will create unnecessary distraction, such as overly ight lit walls and shadows, that will hinder your viewing experience.

2. Reading

General lighting: As with most spaces, general lighting is important, as it ensures sufficient light is emitted to complete most tasks. It is also important to create a balance lighting output, as both strong and dim lighting will affect the reading experience, therefore have a dimmer installed, to change the light output as necessary when needed.

Specialised lighting: Specialised lighting is necessary for book lovers, as a proper light source that does not cause glare and ensure hours of comfortable reading experience.

Accent lighting: Accent lighting can be used to illuminate book shelves to accentuate the different lines and colours, and it be created as a talking point for guests when they visit.

3. Entertainment and engaging guests

For home-owners who love to host guests over during festive periods or holidays, here are some ways whereby you can make it come alive during such occasions.

General lighting: General lighting is considered to be the fundamental lighting needed to create an effective and useful light layout/design. When hosting guests, you would want create an appropriate light design for different functions, such as having a meal, sipping your favourite red wine or just simply to gather around and mingle. Therefore, there are different luminaires and colour options for each function. A best way would be to invest in a changeable colour temperature (CCT) light with dimming capability, so you will be able to adjust the light emitted to suit each and every function.

Spotlight illumination: In emphasising a living room design over functionality, spotlight can be installed to illuminate the different areas that you would like to proudly exhibit to your guests. It can be a recently acquired art piece or a bar top filled with your favourite alcoholic beverages, or to simply accentuate the architectural layout of your living room.

*No living room is the same, as such users need to ascertain the functions and purpose they have, before building a multi layered lighting design that will cater to the various functions you have set out for.