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.

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.

Finding Your Room’s Purpose

The family or living room is the most open-ended room in the house as far as design goes. Everyone knows what to expect in a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen, but the living room can be many things depending on your goals or interests. It can range from a full-blown home theater to a relaxing center for reading, and your lighting needs will change drastically depending on what you choose. If you have a large enough room, you may be able to break it up into a few different sections with a different focus for each one. Think about what your goals are, or visit the Southern Lights showroom today to get some ideas! Below we will discuss some lighting ideas and options for a few different setups to get your creativity flowing!

Entertainment Center Lighting +

If you’re going to utilize your living or family room as an entertainment center, you will need to be especially careful when it comes to the lighting layout and organization. This is mainly due to the fact that many hanging ambient lights will produce a glare on the television if they are not positioned correctly in conjunction with your furniture. You may consider primarily accent lighting around the entertainment center. These could include rope lights or lighting strips. Partnered along with a few task lights like lamps, you can create a strong impression and be ready to binge your next favorite show on Netflix!

Conversational Lighting +

Will you use your living room for mostly conversational purposes? Maybe you and your family enjoy a quiet night with a puzzle and glass of wine or a few board games. If you need to focus on a table or center area, your ambient lighting can be widely varied and include pendants, chandeliers, or recessed lights. Once again, adding a few lamps so you can sit and peacefully read a book in the calm of the morning, or bring the focus onto your body as you do your daily yoga exercises.

Lighting For Guests Or Play +

Enjoy entertaining? Whether you’re planning on having guests over frequently, or you need a play area for your children and grandchildren, you will want a lot of natural feeling ambient light. This will provide the feeling of openness, and illuminate all of the available areas. You could also purchase some dimmable accent lighting so you are able to relax during the days when nobody is over.

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!