Decorative lighting fixtures: How to create a cozy living area
Your living room is an area where you want to retreat to relax after a hectic day. It’s one of the only rooms that can create a lasting impression on your guests and family members. As the living room is a universal area standing as a front face for gatherings, holidays and entertainment, you must have the appropriate furniture and fixtures in position to create a snug and inviting atmosphere.
After all, the living area is one room where most people spend the most time (around 4-5 hours on average each day). With this being the case, it makes sense to consciously select decorative fixtures that complement your furnishings, harmonize with your aesthetic and create a positive influence on you and your guests.
To help ensure you’ve got the correct fixtures in place, check our top living room lighting ideas for your home today.
Why is decorative lighting important for your living room?
Lighting in your living room is crucial to enhancing its design, layout, and function. The right lights can add personality and help establish a visual identity for your space. It directs attention to specific areas, highlighting furniture, artwork, flooring, finishes, and textures. Moreover, installing decorative lighting fixtures is a cost-effective way to help you refurbish and update your living room.
Living room lighting ideas for inspiration
Here are some practical and effective decorative lighting ideas to help transform your living room:
Double-up lights as artwork
If you’ve got a small living room and primarily intend to use it for Netflix, chilling and lounging, then you might want to look for functional lights that double up as artwork. In your search for fixtures that align with this idea, experiment with colors, shapes, sizes, and other elements to craft an artistic impression.
One fixture that can save your bank balance buying paintings and art pieces is Chloe. Meticulously designed with 2-6 overlapping metallic gold, white birch or black ash circles, this cosmetic-styled ceiling light can pull together your aesthetic.
Yet if you’re seeking a more dramatic touch, a living room hanging light such as the Pixie chandelier, can effortlessly add a bold art deco influence. Its symmetric or asymmetric style spikes make it an intriguing conversation starter. Not forgetting the beaming bright gold and white on this fixture immediately invites comfort.
Stick to symmetry
For your living room to have a calming atmosphere, you must build in balance. The best way to do that is by embracing symmetry. Strategically curating a symmetrical layout can help you evenly distribute weight across your room. In other words, it stops one side of your room from feeling too heavy or crowded than the other, making it soothing to sit in.
Pro Tip: You don’t need to go overboard with lighting choices to create a symmetrical touch; it can be as simple as purchasing the same light twice and installing it in the same direction.
For instance, the Cadel is a sleek minimalist fixture that can be strategically purchased and placed vertically on either side of the artwork, in groups of 4 horizontally or vertically. Cadel gives you the full freedom to play around with lighting, creating a well-balanced focal point.
Test the temperature
Opt for a warm glow over a colder color temperature when selecting bulbs. Cold white light is often too intense, direct, and stimulating, preventing you from sinking back into that cozy armchair or sofa of yours. Warm light bulbs with a temperature around 3000k can invite an atmosphere of intimacy and rejuvenation into your sitting room.
Pro Tip: Combine warm temperatures with fixtures with a gold finish to create a luxurious feel. Lighting like Charlotte works a charm for this; having warm white bulbs and classy golden rings that hang from a golden base can create a stunning distraction.
If installed in a living room with a gray, navy, or dark wall, The Charlotte stands as a contrasting fixture that can easily make anyone fall victim to periods of relaxation.
Go customizable
Tailor the level of comfort to your liking for your living room with customizable lighting. Selecting lights that you can customize or adjust the height can allow your living room to feel more comfortable and look aesthetically appealing to the eyes.
Pro Tip: You don't have to opt for custom-made items to create a cozy seating area; instead, focus on smaller customizable elements such as the length of the lighting fixture. The Janet, a modern hanging chandelier, exemplifies this concept—giving you the flexibility to adjust the hanging length of the straps to which the rings are suspended.
Change the height to gently float above your coffee table or sofa to get the right level of comfort. You can also customize the lighting intensity to match the ambiance due to the dimmable switch installed with Janet.
Installing decorative lighting fixtures in your living room is a crucial element to its appearance and ambiance. Only once you’ve considered their design and glow, your existing room layout, and the color of walls and furniture can you create a snug atmosphere.
Want to achieve a specific ambiance for your living room? Share with us your plans, our experts will help you find lighting to match them.
If you’re looking for further inspiration for fixtures, learn how to match lights to different rooms in your home.