Lighting for the Living room

Lighting General and Task

The lighting must adapt to suit different moods or functions, in rooms that are in regular use throughout the day and evening.
Successful lighting depends on the general, feature and task lighting working in harmony, in the same way that fabric colours and textures are chosen as part of the interior design. The solution you choose will depend on your style of decoration. By varying the levels of these individual effects, and by using different combinations, you can create both dramatic impact and the perfect light setting for every activity.

Although a single, central pendant may complement the style of the room, the light it produces will be flat and dull. Used as a decorative feature, however, they do have their place as a focal point in the centre of a room. To provide general lighting, they can be supplemented with further sources of light around the room, such as an arrangement of table lamps or wall lights.

Table lamps can be positioned anywhere within a room: to eliminate darkness around the edges; reduce areas of shadow in the centre; or act as task lights for reading when located next to chairs and sofas, which will introduce a second layer of light. It is advisable to install floor sockets in the centre of the room to give yourself more flexibility in choosing where to place lamps, and also to eliminate the problem of cables trailing from sockets at the edge of the room to your lamp. Although they are an easy option for a living room, using too many lamps may give your home the appearance of a lamp shop, and so you should combine these with other light sources.

Downlighting, from fixtures installed in the ceiling or underneath cupboards, can effectively create a good overall light. In contemporary settings, the general light is often achieved through methods other than pendants and table lamps. If you choose this technique as part of your scheme, mains-voltage fittings could be used, but they are somewhat bulky and so it may be better to opt for the low-glare, low-voltage alternative. Another advantage of low-voltage downlights is their crisp, white light. On a gloomy day, their brilliant light makes it seem as if the sun is literally shining in, making them particularly useful in rooms that receive little natural light.

Downlights are also very useful for adding light into the centre of a room, an area that can sometimes be forgotten; they can be directed onto a decorative object to work as both general and feature lights. Downlights placed directly over seating areas create effective reading lights, but can cast distorted shadows of light across you when seated. If this task light is required, it would be useful to have the option of dimming the light to create a softer effect when entertaining.

Up lighting is a good solution for contemporary interiors as most uplights are of a modern design. Low-level, drum-shaped up lights, either mains or low-voltage, can be hidden behind a piece of furniture to light the corners of a room, or provide light in a bay window which appears dark at night. When positioned under plants, these uplights provide an interesting pattern of light on the walls and ceiling and will contribute to both the general and feature lighting. A free-standing halogen uplight will provide a high intensity of light in rooms when required.

Wall washing can be used to softly illuminate plain walls as an addition to general lighting, or to highlight a favourite piece of art. Both effects can easily be achieved in your living or dining room by using an array of downlights positioned in the ceiling between 50-100cm (20-40in) away from a wall, depending on ceiling height, and 1m (40in) apart. This works best if wide beam bulbs are used, possibly with a frosted cover lens. The brightness of this light may overshadow more subtle effects if it is not balanced by other areas of light on the opposite side of the room.

Feature Lighting
Having set the scene with the general and task lighting, drama and contrast can be introduced through feature lighting. Some of the choices you will have made for your overall lighting scheme may offer some feature lighting, but additional effects will add focus to chosen objects or specific areas of the room. Flowers on a coffee or dining table can, for instance, be illuminated with a narrow beam of light, which will bring out the best in the flowers and create a central focal point in the room, making it appear more intimate.

Highlighting the architectural features of a room, for example large open fireplace or an arched doorway, can create drama. In a room with columns, you can achieve stunning effects with lights recessed into the floor and positioned close to the column bases, as the light will graze up the side and produce a dramatic focus at the top.

The illumination of an alcove, shelves or cabinet can be another form of focus and feature in a room. The easiest method of lighting shelves is to use a tungsten striplight behind a baffle, which conceals the source. There are, however, two disadvantages with this method: the bulky size of the fitting requires large shelf sizes to conceal the source, and the linear filament is delicate and frequently 'blows'. An alternative solution is to use candle bulbs, and although several individual bulbs are required, they are cheaper than a single tungsten strip and last much longer. Low-voltage shelf systems, however, usually achieve the best results. They are smaller than the linear filament bulbs and therefore can be concealed within slimmer shelves. They normally consist of a small track system, or clickstrip, so that bulbs can either be arranged uniformly along the length of a shelf or in clusters to light specific objects. They do require a remote transformer and can get quite hot, so they should not be used near books. To light a bookshelf effectively, a simple mains-voltage rope-light can be used, as it offers a soft light, is fairly small, has a long lamp life and does not get too hot.

Three-dimensional objects, like pieces of sculpture, offer the greatest canvas for dramatic schemes. When any object is lit, the most important factors are the direction of light and the play between light and shadow, as distortions can result if the proportions and placing are not right. You also need to take into account the position from which the object will be viewed. Depending on the shape of the sculpture or ornament, and features within it that you wish to highlight, you can choose whether it should be uplit, downlit or backlit. If you want to install your lights before the piece to be lit has been chosen, cross light will be the safest option, as it allows you to throw light from both sides.