Who This Is For: Anyone whose living room feels flat, harsh or too dim after dark, and anyone furnishing a new one who wants to plan the light before the fixtures.
Key Takeaways
- The Short Answer
- Layer One: Ambient Light
- Layer Two: Accent Light
- Layer Three: Task Light
- Light at Three Heights
- Warmth and Control
- A Sample Plan
- One Room, Three Moods
- Three Mistakes to Avoid
- Is It Right for Your Space?
The Short Answer
Use three layers of light, at three different heights, on separate controls. Ambient light fills the room, accent light gives it depth, and task light serves the places where you read or work. Keep every layer warm, and put each one on its own dimmer.
Most living rooms are lit the way the builder left them: one fixture in the ceiling, on a single switch. Turn it on and the room is bright but flat. Faces are shadowed, corners are dark, and the only way to make it feel relaxed is to turn everything off. Layers solve that. They let one room be a dinner party at eight and a quiet fireside at ten.
Layer One: Ambient Light
Ambient light is the foundation. It should be soft and even, never glaring. As a rough guide, plan 10 to 20 lumens per square foot (about 100 to 200 lumens per square metre), then adjust with a dimmer.
The Gibbous is a calm way to do it. Blown opal glass globes sit at staggered heights on a metal ring in black or red copper, in amber, smoke gray or white glass. Choose 5, 7 or 9 globes. The ring is 22.05, 30.71 or 39.37 inches across (56, 78 or 100 cm), and the body is 11.81 inches (30 cm) tall, so it suits a standard ceiling. Because the globes are opal, the light is soft rather than sharp.
Layer Two: Accent Light
Accent light is what makes a room look designed. It washes a wall, highlights a painting or lets a corner glow. It is usually the layer that is missing.
The Streak is a slim black aluminum strip that draws a clean line of light along the wall. It is offered in five lengths from 23.6 to 59 inches (60 to 150 cm), with warm white, 3 step or dimmable light. Placed in a pair on either side of a painting or a sofa, it frames the wall like architecture. Our wall sconces include many more shapes.
Layer Three: Task Light
Task light is for reading, and for the seat by the window. It should be bright enough to see by, and placed so that it does not throw a glare on the page.
The Bow arcs nearly 4 feet (47.24 inches, 120 cm) from its base and stands over 5.5 feet (66.93 inches, 170 cm) tall. The arm reaches over a sofa or a dining table, so the base can stay tucked behind. It is rigid aluminum in black or white, with white, warm white or dimmable light.
For a reading chair, the Hickory pairs a walnut finish with a fabric shade. The wide shade lights a whole seating area. It is 17.72 inches wide and 61.81 inches high (45 by 157 cm), and it offers warm 3000K light, in 3 steps or dimmable.
Light at Three Heights
Great rooms are lit at three heights: high, middle and low. High is the ceiling or a tall uplight. Middle is eye level, with sconces and shaded lamps. Low is the table lamp, at the level of a seated guest.
The Torch is a torchiere that bounces light off the ceiling, which makes a room feel taller. It is dimmable, about 5.5 feet (66.93 inches, 170 cm) high, and its base is only 9.06 inches (23 cm) wide, so it fits behind a sofa or beside a chair.
For the low layer, the Fumata is a tinted glass table lamp on four black metal legs. The shade is cognac or smoke gray, and it is 11 inches wide and 14.6 inches tall (28 by 37 cm). A warm or cool white E27 LED bulb is included, and it plugs in with no wiring. Our table lamps and floor lamps offer more choices.
Warmth and Control
Choose warm white, around 2700K to 3000K, for every layer. Mixed colours look accidental, and cool light in a living room makes wood and skin look pale.
Control is what makes layers useful. Put the ceiling layer on a dimmer on the wall. Put the sconces on a second one. Use the lamps on a plug or a switch of their own. The lamp at the lowest level is the one you will use every night, so place it where you can reach it without standing.
A Sample Plan
Take a living room of 14 by 18 feet (4.3 by 5.5 m) with one sofa wall and a reading chair.
- Ambient: one ring chandelier or flush fixture, about 30 inches (76 cm) across, on a dimmer.
- Accent: a pair of sconces on the sofa wall, with their centres near 60 to 66 inches (152 to 168 cm) from the floor.
- Task: a floor lamp beside the reading chair, with the bottom of the shade near eye level when seated.
- Low glow: one table lamp on a console or side table at the far end of the room.
That is five lights on four controls, and it will serve every mood the room needs.
One Room, Three Moods
Once the layers are in, the room can change character at the touch of a dimmer. For a morning, bring up the ambient layer and let the room feel bright and clear. For dinner with friends, lower the ceiling and raise the sconces, so that faces are lit and the walls glow.
For a late evening, switch off the ceiling entirely. Leave only the table lamp and the floor lamp, and the room becomes intimate and quiet. This is the real luxury of layering. You do not buy more light, you buy more choice.
Three Mistakes to Avoid
The first is lighting from the centre only. Keep light away from the middle of the ceiling and bring it to the walls and corners, where the room's edges are.
The second is choosing bulbs of different colours. Always match them, and always check the Kelvin number on the packaging.
The third is skipping dimmers. A room lit at one level is a room lit badly. Add them everywhere you can.
Is It Right for Your Space?
If your living room feels flat, start with the accent layer, because it adds the most depth for the least effort. If it feels dim, add a floor lamp and a table lamp first, since they need no wiring. If you are planning a new room, plan the controls before the fixtures.
Questions about sizes, finishes or how to arrange a layered scheme? Write to us at info@norafurnish.com and our team will help you choose.
