The art of living room lighting

The living room is where you relax, entertain guests and spend time with your family. Well thought-out lighting plays a crucial role here, creating a comfortable atmosphere while meeting practical requirements. In this article, we explore different aspects of living room lighting, from recessed LED spotlights to indirect light and the art of dimming.

Basic lighting

Basic lighting in the living room forms the backbone of the room's lighting and lays the foundation for a pleasant atmosphere. It should be evenly distributed and illuminate the whole room without being too bright or glaring. Ceiling lights, such as modern LED spotlights or classic ceiling lights, are ideal as basic lighting. They provide bright, even illumination throughout the room and offer a solid base for other lighting elements such as accent or functional lighting. Dimmable versions allow you to adjust the brightness as required, creating an individual atmosphere that invites both relaxation and conviviality.

Adapted functional lighting

When designing a reading corner or workspace in the living room, the right functional lighting is essential. It creates the ideal conditions for concentrated work or relaxed reading. Targeted lighting with a directional reading light, which focuses the light directly above the book, provides contrasting, targeted light. A variable option lets you adjust the brightness to suit your individual needs.

Adding accents

Accent lighting in the living room creates targeted highlights and lends the room a special note. Well-placed accent lighting can be used to highlight certain areas or objects in order to draw attention and create atmosphere. This can be achieved, for example, with wall-mounted spotlights, recessed lamps or special table and floor lamps. Accent lighting is ideal for highlighting works of art, decorations or architectural details and giving them an extra dimension. By choosing and placing accent lighting correctly, you can create a welcoming and stylish environment in the living room that underlines the personality of the room and enhances the atmosphere.

Recessed LED spotlights: The modern classic

Recessed spotlights are versatile, efficient and attractive. They blend discreetly into the ceiling and provide targeted lighting for different areas of the home. The advantages of LED recessed spotlights are obvious: they are energy-efficient, long-lasting and offer excellent quality of light.

Indirect lighting: for a warm atmosphere

Indirect light plays a key role in living room design. It creates soft, diffuse lighting that illuminates the room without being dazzling. Indirect lighting can be achieved with LED strips along walls or furniture or with special luminaires and gives the living room a cosy atmosphere.

Dimmability: the art of customisation

The ability to adjust the brightness of the lighting is crucial for living room lighting. Dimming allows you to change the mood in the room, from bright daylight to soft evening light. LED lights are particularly suitable for dimmable applications as they offer a wide range of brightness levels and are energy efficient at the same time.

Lumen: The right brightness for every area

Slightly more subdued lighting is desirable in the living room compared to the kitchen and bathroom. Experts therefore recommend around 100 lumens per square metre for basic lighting. This achieves a pleasant brightness that sufficiently illuminates the room without being too harsh.

The number of lumens per square metre varies depending on the type of lighting and individual preferences. For basic lighting in the living room, around 100 to 200 lumens per square metre are generally recommended to ensure even and pleasant illumination.

For functional lighting for reading, a higher light intensity is required to ensure good legibility. Here, around 300 to 400 lumens per square metre are recommended in order to achieve sufficient brightness and not strain the eye. For accent lighting, which aims to highlight certain areas or objects, around 150 to 200 lumens per square metre are sufficient.

However, it is important to note that these are only rough guide values and that the actual amount of light required depends on various factors such as room size, ceiling height, personal preferences and the type of luminaires used.

Conclusion

To summarise, it can be said that well thought-out lighting design for the living room contributes significantly to the atmosphere and functionality of the room. Here are some important points to bear in mind:

• Plan three to five light sources per 20 square metres to ensure even illumination.
• Experts recommend around 100 lumens per square metre for basic lighting.
• Opt for diffuse, indirect light for cosiness and direct light for reading or working.
• Avoid strong contrasts in brightness to create a pleasant lighting ambience.
• Warm white light creates a relaxed atmosphere in the living room.
• Dimmers make it possible to adjust the light intensity individually.
• Align the lighting direction with the most common viewing direction to avoid glare effects.
• Use energy-saving and cost-efficient light sources such as LEDs to illuminate your living space effectively and save energy at the same time.