Family Room Lighting Design
The family room is where you will spend most of your time inside. It can be an entertainment haven, a place to sit and read, a room to entertain guests, and more! No matter what your plans are, you can find amazing lighting options for your space at Southern Lights. Visit our showroom or shop online to find the fixtures that will suit your space perfectly.
It is important to find the purpose of your family or living room, and design a lightscape that will fulfill your needs. If your room is large enough, you may even need several different sections of lighting to accommodate all of the needs. Some of the living room lighting options that we can help help you achieve include:
- Entertainment center lighting
- Conversational lighting
- Guest and playroom lighting
Elements of Lighting
Before you begin buying fixtures, there are three main types of lighting you will need to focus on: task lighting, ambient lighting, and accent lighting. By combining these three types of lighting, you will be able to create the right feeling for whatever situation or feeling you are trying to convey in your family or living room.
Task lighting’s main goal is to create direct focus for specific activities. Lamps are excellent sources of task lighting in the family room, and make for a great way to unwind with a good book.
For ambient lighting, this will be the main source of illumination for the room. Depending on your room’s purpose and size, you may need multiple ambient fixtures such as pendant lights or chandeliers.
Ambient Fixtures +
The final type of lighting is accent lighting. This type is mostly for beauty and to draw attention. One common usage of accent lighting in the living room is sconces or directional light that bring attention to pieces of art.
Creating Enough Light For Your Room
When you are preparing your living room, you will need to make sure that you have enough light to fill the room or focus on the important spaces. The foolproof formula for calculating the amount of wattage needed for your room is simple! Take the square footage of your room and multiply it by 1.5. If your room is 10x10, your square footage is 100 feet. Multiply that by 1.5, and you will need a fixture that provides at least 150 watts of power.
If you are looking to illuminate specific areas with stronger task lighting, there is a second formula to use. For these smaller spaces and focus points, you will take the square footage and multiply it by 2.5. This means the spot will receive brighter light to help you focus on whatever task you plan to accomplish.
Need versatile lighting that can double as ambient light or task light? Talk to the specialists at Southern Lights! We have some fixtures that can provide two types of light, or can be put on dimmers or other lighting controls. This way, you will be able to use your living room for multiple activities!
Ambient Fixtures +
Since the living room or family room is so versatile, you will be able to pick from almost any number of ambient fixtures to adorn your room. If you live in warmer climates or your living room is often full of activity, investing in a ceiling fan can be an excellent idea. This will help circulate air around the room, and can serve as a beautiful centerpiece in the open space. If you have high ceilings, a chandelier or hanging pendant lights will be perfect to liven up your space and draw attention as well as disperse light.
Lamps +
One of the best add-ons for living rooms are lamps. Floor lamps, desk and table lamps, or even lamps that can clamp onto shelves! Thanks to their mobile nature, you can rearrange the lighting to fit any activity, and there are a huge variety of styles available to meet any design.
Sconces And Accent Lights +
If you have dedicated reading areas along the wall of your living room, or you love to show off your artwork, sconces and other accent lighting will be able to provide the focus that you need. Since these are not hanging from the ceiling, they are great options for entertainment centers, and they can be dimmable to set the perfect mood for a movie or for simple relaxation.
Creating Enough Light For Your Room
When you are preparing your living room, you will need to make sure that you have enough light to fill the room or focus on the important spaces. The foolproof formula for calculating the amount of wattage needed for your room is simple! Take the square footage of your room and multiply it by 1.5. If your room is 10x10, your square footage is 100 feet. Multiply that by 1.5, and you will need a fixture that provides at least 150 watts of power.
If you are looking to illuminate specific areas with stronger task lighting, there is a second formula to use. For these smaller spaces and focus points, you will take the square footage and multiply it by 2.5. This means the spot will receive brighter light to help you focus on whatever task you plan to accomplish.
Need versatile lighting that can double as ambient light or task light? Talk to the specialists at Southern Lights! We have some fixtures that can provide two types of light, or can be put on dimmers or other lighting controls. This way, you will be able to use your living room for multiple activities!
Ambient Fixtures +
Since the living room or family room is so versatile, you will be able to pick from almost any number of ambient fixtures to adorn your room. If you live in warmer climates or your living room is often full of activity, investing in a ceiling fan can be an excellent idea. This will help circulate air around the room, and can serve as a beautiful centerpiece in the open space. If you have high ceilings, a chandelier or hanging pendant lights will be perfect to liven up your space and draw attention as well as disperse light.
Lamps +
One of the best add-ons for living rooms are lamps. Floor lamps, desk and table lamps, or even lamps that can clamp onto shelves! Thanks to their mobile nature, you can rearrange the lighting to fit any activity, and there are a huge variety of styles available to meet any design.
Sconces And Accent Lights +
If you have dedicated reading areas along the wall of your living room, or you love to show off your artwork, sconces and other accent lighting will be able to provide the focus that you need. Since these are not hanging from the ceiling, they are great options for entertainment centers, and they can be dimmable to set the perfect mood for a movie or for simple relaxation.
Lighting Controls
As we hinted at before, you may want a lot of versatility from your fixtures. Placing them on dimmers will allow you to get the most out of almost any lighting! If you consistently use the same fixtures at the same time each day, you could also consider timers that will automatically switch your lights on and off at your set schedule.
Need something even more useful? Consider investing in smart lighting! Not only will you be able to customize your lightscape to your heart’s content, but you can also save on your energy bills each month! Most smart systems utilize high-efficiency bulbs, and can detect if you are in the room and will switch off when they are no longer needed.
Visit Our Lighting Showroom in Minnesota
Ready to get started with your own family room lighting design? Stop by the Southern Lights showroom in Minnesota, and find everything you are looking for. If you have questions, our knowledgeable associates will be happy to help you find the solutions you are looking for.
Can’t make it to the showroom? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Shop our online store today, and have your new lighting fixtures delivered right to your door. If you have questions, feel free to contact us, and we will help you in any way that we can. We look forward to working with you to make your family room the exciting room you want it to be!