Living Room Lighting in Perth: 6 Ways to Get It Right
Living room lighting has to do more jobs than any other room: reading, watching television, entertaining, and doing nothing at all. That is why living room lighting so often ends up as one bright ceiling light doing none of them well. Here are six ways to get it right.
1. Layer it rather than flood it
The core principle of living room lighting is layers: a general light for overall brightness, task light where people read, and accent light for atmosphere. One fitting cannot cover all three, which is why a single downlight grid leaves a room feeling flat and unwelcoming.
2. Plan around the seating
Lighting should follow the furniture, not the ceiling grid. Good living room lighting puts light where people actually sit, with something to read by beside the main chairs, rather than distributing fittings evenly across a ceiling regardless of what is below them.
3. Get the television wall right
Screens and light do not mix well. Living room lighting near a television should avoid glare and reflections, which usually means keeping bright fittings out of the line of sight and using softer light behind or beside the viewing position instead of straight above it.
4. Include outlets for lamps
Floor and table lamps do a lot of the work in good living room lighting, but only if there is somewhere to plug them in. Outlets positioned where lamps will actually stand, ideally switched, save leads running across the floor to the nearest socket.
5. Dimming changes the room
A living room is bright and practical during the day and should be soft in the evening. Dimmable living room lighting handles both from the same fittings, provided the globes and dimmer are compatible, which is worth confirming before buying either one.
6. Use accent light for depth
A light that grazes a textured wall, highlights a picture or washes a bookshelf adds the depth that makes living room lighting feel considered rather than merely adequate. A small amount of accent light is often what separates a warm room from a functional one.
Open plan needs zoning
Where the living area flows into a kitchen or dining space, switching them separately matters. Being able to dim the lounge while the kitchen stays bright, or light only the part of the space in use, makes an open plan area far more comfortable to live in.
Warm light suits the evening
This is a room for relaxing, so warmer tones generally work better than the cooler light you would choose for a kitchen bench. Matching the colour temperature to how the room is used in the evening does more for the feel than adding extra brightness.
Plan before the ceiling closes
Wall lights, extra switching and lamp outlets are all far easier while walls and ceilings are open during a build or renovation. Retrofitting them into a finished room is possible, but it means patching and painting that could have been avoided with a little planning.
When a fitting misbehaves
A downlight that flickers after a globe change, a switch that feels warm, or any buzzing from a fitting is worth acting on. If it comes with scorching or a burning smell, treat it as urgent and call an Emergency Electrician Perth rather than living with it.
Why use a licensed electrician
Living room lighting work, new fittings, wall lights, switching and dimmers, is licensed work. A licensed electrician installs it safely and can help plan the layout. The state’s Building and Energy sets the requirements involved.
Rethinking living room lighting in Perth?
ACS Electrical designs and installs lighting throughout the home, and is a 24/7 Emergency Electrician Perth. Explore our lighting installation service, bedroom lighting guide or residential electrician service. Call 0419 967 838.
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