by Heidi Labron

Created on: March 17, 2009

Choosing the right lighting for your living room is just as important as the paint color and the furniture you choose to put in it. The correct lighting can make a room warm and welcoming, while improper lighting will leave the room looking shadowy and cold. There are a few easy things you can do to make sure your living room has light in all the right places.

#1. Make sure you understand the natural light in the room. If your living room has a large picture window that receives a lot of bright day sunlight, then the colors you choose for the room should remain softer to avoid having the sunlight make them look almost neon and too bright. You can always soften the light with sheers on your window, but if you have a great view, you will want the window to be a feature, not something you need to cover up. At night, if you have street lights, you might want curtains or some other window covering to darken the room a bit so that it is better for watching television.

#2. Ask yourself what you will use the room for. If your living room is just a place to entertain on special occasions, you might just want several lamps around the room for mood lighting. Soft, incandescent bulbs will provide a much nice light, almost like candlelight, but the new CFL bulbs will save you money. You can always purchase lampshades that are a bit darker to compensate for the brighter bulbs. If your room will be used everyday, you'll want overhead lighting as well as single lamps placed in key spots around the room for people who like to sit and read, or do homework on the living room floor. A dimmer switch for the overhead light will allow you to adjust the light to allow for different situations.

#3. Come up with zones. Each living room needs a few special zones for reading or watching television. Make sure the places with your most comfy chairs have standing floor lamps to allow for spot lighting so that someone can cuddle up and read the paper or a good book while someone else watches a movie across the room. Make sure that you don't have lighting directly over the television as this can cause too much glare on the screen.

#4. Be flexible about trying new lighting. Bring down a lamp that was previously used in the bedroom, or experiment with spot lighting in a room with great artwork. You can always redirect the spot lights to another part of the room if you are having a party or just want a different effect.

If you keep the lighting in mind when decorating, you'll end up with a room that is well used and practical as well as beautiful.

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