Your living room serves an assortment of purposes…it is your entertainment center, your reading corner, your gathering space, your art gallery, maybe even your eating space, etc. Thus, it makes sense to have lighting to mark off each area while also being something that is easy on your eyes.

For living spaces you’ll want to consider including lighting that serves all types of purposes. You’ll want general lighting for entertaining and watching TV, task lighting for reading or intricate hobbies, and accent lighting for anything that may need a little attention (i.e. artwork, architecturally interesting home features, etc). Generally speaking, four to eight sources of light should be sufficient for a living room, especially when you balance directional lighting with diffused lighting. Dimming controls are great for the living room because they allow you to change the lighting to suit each mood and activity.

A few pieces of advice: for general lighting, don’t place the fixture (i.e. a floor lamp or pendant lamp, etc) directly next to a wall or other large objects. This prevents the light rays from dispersing evenly through the room. Instead, place the light in a more central location. For task lighting for the purpose of reading, try to have the light source come from behind the reader’s shoulder. This can be accomplished by placing a floor lamp or table lamp either at the right or the left of the reading chair. The bottom of the shade should be located at eye level to avoid glare.

The best overall recommendation we can give you…play! There are no hard rules to follow but lighting can be tricky to get just right. Get a friend to help, move lamps around and don’t be afraid to change things up. When things feel right you’ll know and if you get a headache after a few hours in the room it may be a sign that your eyes are still strained. That’s when you know you need to play some more!