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The living room is usually the room in the house best lit by natural light. It is also one of the areas where we dedicate more time to relaxation and conviviality, and the one where, in the same space, several different activities take place. Lighting is therefore particularly important. We expect the room to be comfortable at any time of the day, so lights play an essential role, just like the furniture. In this article we offer you an in-depth look at living room lighting and the technical aspects to consider when choosing lamps.
Let's start by trying to understand which lamps are best suited to each area of the living room. The conversation area in fact requires different lighting than the area where you eat or read. Let's see together what type of lights to choose.
Depending on the size of the conversation area and the type of sofa (in this article some tips on how to choose it), you can opt for a floor lamp or a pendant solution. The goal is to create atmospheric lighting that promotes relaxation.
If there is a corner dedicated to reading in the living room, it is useful to equip it with a table or floor lamp . Direct light helps to focus attention and not to strain the eyes, therefore a lamp with an adjustable lampshade and dimmable light will help to create the most suitable context, also based on the different times of the day. If there is also a large bookcase in the living room, it can be illuminated with clip lights to be fixed to the shelves or with a floor lamp with several light points.
If the living room also has a dining area or the area is open space with a kitchen, we recommend lighting the table well with designer pendant lamps . You can use a single lamp or a cluster solution with several light points. This type allows you to create custom compositions with diffusers of different shapes or fixed at different heights. Alternatively, if the table is near a wall, you can choose one with an arm fixed to the wall.
Having said this, you need to decide how many light points to put in the living room. As we have understood, each portion of the room has its own needs, so it is unlikely that a single lamp can satisfy them all. To illuminate the living room and create the right visual comfort, we recommend installing multiple light sources: normally for a medium-sized living room, it is recommended to put three, each with its own function.
If the living room is very large or the room is open space with kitchen, the light points can become even five or more, also depending on how the furniture is arranged.
It is the general light of the room, it is used to illuminate it by eliminating the darkest shadows and/or glaring points. For this light point, ceiling lights, ceiling lamps or wall lamps are suitable, which emit a diffused and uniform light in the room.
They are turned on when you do specific activities: talking, reading, eating. The most suitable are table, floor or pendant lamps, which emit a direct beam of light on objects.
They are used to illuminate particular furnishing accessories (paintings, objects) or to add a touch of design to the room. They can be table lamps, directional or recessed spotlights.
In the living room but also in other rooms of the house, before choosing the lighting it is useful to observe the environment or the furnishing project paying attention to some aspects, first of which the natural light that comes from doors, windows and skylights. Secondly, materials, colors and furnishing elements.
Inside the room, light shades reflect light, therefore amplifying the light emitted by the lamps, while dark walls absorb brightness and attenuate it. Using the same light source in two different contexts will therefore have a completely different effect: to obtain the same brightness in a room with dark walls, it will be necessary to install more powerful lamps.
The same reasoning also applies to furnishings: the upholstery of the sofa , the color of a sideboard or TV stand , the material the dining table top is made of influence how and to what extent the light is reflected and the overall effect that results. Personal tastes and habits will then help you decide which is the most comfortable solution.
The position where you install the lamps is also very important. For example, above the dining table the light must be at an adequate height, so as not to be cumbersome or dazzling either when sitting or when standing (normally the suspensions are hung 180 cm from the ground).
Likewise, the lamp should be chosen with an appropriate size in relation to the table top and the room as a whole. Finally, it is good to consider whether the room creates reflections on other furnishings: mirrors, television, windows. In some cases, it may be necessary to review the position of the lamps.
Finally, to decide which lights to put in the living room it is useful to consider some more technical aspects. In fact, they influence the overall effect and the use that will be made of the lights in the room, also from an energy saving perspective.
Trying to give a universal answer, besides being difficult, can become counterproductive because, as we have seen in the previous paragraphs, the lighting of a room depends on many factors. When in doubt, choosing dimmable lamps can be a passe-partout solution that solves most brightness problems. Today, in fact, almost all lamps are equipped or can be equipped with dimmers to adjust the intensity of the light. Depending on the model, they can be connected to wall switches, remote control systems via app or even more complex home automation systems.
Although there are no universal rules in this regard, in the living room it is usually recommended to choose a warm light, because it is more relaxing. The temperature of the light of a light bulb is measured in degrees Kelvin, indicated in the technical specifications and on the product packaging. Values from 2200 to 3300 K correspond to a warm light, while values 3300-5500 K identify cold light. For the living room it is usually recommended to choose light sources of 2700 or 3000 K.
Light sources and energy savingTraditional incandescent light bulbs are increasingly less used, replaced by other types that consume less and have a lower environmental impact. The most energy efficient are LED lamps: for the same consumption they emit more light, less heat, and last longer than incandescent ones.
Lumen vs. WattLumens (lm) indicate how much light a lamp emits. The intensity varies depending on the type of bulb (incandescent, halogen, energy saving, or LED). Watts (W) instead indicate how much energy the light source consumes.
Color rendering of a light sourceThe CRI (Color Rendering Index) index identifies the color rendering, or how natural the colors of objects are when illuminated by artificial light. It is measured with values ranging from 0 to 100. Considering that sunlight has the best color rendering value (100), values above 90 are optimal for natural lighting.
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