How to Light a Living Room with No Overhead Lighting Easily

No overhead lights in your living room? That is not a reason to have dim, underlit, unwelcoming space. There are many ways of creating effective and attractive lighting in your living room that will set the perfect tone and mood. In this article, we will tell you how to light a living room with no overhead lighting in creative and aesthetically pleasing ways.

Excited? Let’s dive right in!

How to Add More Light to a Room Without Ceiling Light – 7 Lighting Ideas

1. Plug-In Ceiling Pendants

Plug-in ceiling lights will fake the look of having overhead ceiling lights without all the wiring. You don’t need a fixture to hang a plug-in ceiling light. Most plug-in ceiling lights come with a hook that you can screw into the ceiling.

All you need is a power outlet and you will be good to go! You can choose ceiling pendants in the shape of a chandelier to beautify your room instantly.

2. Floor Lamps

Arc floor lamps look elegant and are perfect for modern living rooms. Not only do they look great, but they are quite functional as well and can light up the entire living room. You don’t have to worry about drilling, wiring, etc. with arc floor lamps.

Apart from arc floor lamps, you can get freestanding floor lamps as well. Floor lamps have a tall, upright structure that creates the illusion and feeling of overhead lighting. They not only supply plenty of ambient lighting, but they also banish out any gloomy & dark spots and even out the spread of light in the living room.

Place floor lamps in corners of the room or you can keep them at either end of the living room sofa to illuminate the seating area. You can get floor lamps with no shade to brighten up the space as much as possible.

You can save money and space by buying a tree light. A tree light is basically a floor lamp with several light bulbs up the base. Make sure to check whether the bulbs put off a lot of heat or not.

3. Table Lamps

Table lamps come in various styles and sizes. No matter what look you are going for – minimalistic, modern rustic, victorian flair, etc. – you can find table lamps to match the décor. Table lamps are great for bookshelves, coffee tables, etc. This is one of the most frequent choices people make when researching how to light a living room with no overhead lighting.

You can get desk lamps as well. They are usually smaller than table lamps and work well on end tables, console tables, bookcases, mantles, etc.

4. Wall Sconces

Wall sconces require minimal installation and give your living room a romantic ambiance. Moreover, they keep your floor space clear. They are a versatile alternative to overhead lights and bring in a lot of ambient light into the room.

They are available in a large variety of sizes, materials, colors, shapes, etc. An uplighter will wash light towards the ceiling and upwards along the wall while a downlighter will do the opposite.

For nice, evenly spread ambient lighting, you can place matching lights around the room at evenly spaced intervals. If you use translucent shades, it will cast the light even further. Put up a matching pair of wall lights on either side of the fireplace or the sofa to generate a feeling of warmth.

5. Mirrors

Mirrors are amazing when it comes to brightening and opening up spaces. They are not only decorative but functional as well.

You can combine floor lamps and mirrors to get the best results. Simply place a floor lamp against a mounted or freestanding mirror, and enjoy the way the mirror reflects the light source around the living room.

By strategically placing mirrors in the living room, you can make most of the existing lighting scheme in your living room. Mirrors maximize light in a space and add a bit of spazz and sparkle to an otherwise dull space.

6. Flameless Candles

Flameless candles create a dreamy atmosphere in your living room. You can keep them on the coffee tables, fireplace tops, etc. all around the room. You can get regular candles as well. However, they are a fire hazard and you will have to keep replacing them.

Therefore, we recommend that you stick to LED flameless candles.

7. String Lights

We all like string lights. Also known as fairy lights, they are quite trendy and popular these days. You can choose string lights of any color and hang them in the room to brighten it up and set a dreamy, romantic mood.

If you like the versatility of string lights, but don’t want to use them, you can go for LED strips. They are affordable, and you can easily install them wherever you want. They come in various styles and colors, so they will match your sharp, modern décor perfectly.

Some of the strips are battery powered while others are plug-in. We recommend that you go with the plug-in ones as replacing the battery-powered LED strips is cumbersome.

Things to Do When Lighting a Living Room

Choose the Type of Lighting

When it comes to lighting, there are three main types.

1. Ambient Lighting
2. Task Lighting
3. Accent Lighting

When you are lighting your living room, you have to consider what you want to achieve from the lighting and how you want the room to work for you. By combining accent, task, and ambient lighting, you can create a beautiful lighting scheme that will perfectly suit your needs.

Ambient Lighting

The background lighting in any room, including light from lamps, wall lights, pendants, etc. is called ambient lighting. If you want to light up your living room in a subtle and sophisticated way, you should go with this.

This background lighting will light up the living room in a nice, cozy way. Ceiling lights help in illuminating a wide area. With the help of a few well-placed wall lights, you can create a similar effect.

Moreover, you can complement the wall lights with floor lamps. You should aim for a balanced, broad spread of light across the living room.

 Task Lighting

If you need targeted light for reading, studying, etc., task lighting will be there to help you. Think about where you need some targeted lighting. It could be a desk, a reading nook, or a seating area in the living room.

You can add floor lamps, table lamps, or wall lights as part of the task lighting.

Accent Lighting

If you want to highlight a particular area or feature to add visual interest and build atmosphere, you go with accent lighting. Accent lights will add a decorative touch to the living space. Decide on the type of atmosphere you want to create and then select suitable accent lighting.

To highlight architectural features or a favorite piece of art, you can use torchiere-style lamps and wall sconces. If there is an alcove, you can place a beautiful table lamp that will not only look great but will also diffuse a warm, intimate glow.

We recommend that you use smart bulbs. They not only consume less energy but can be easily controlled via a remote so that you control the amount of lighting as per your needs and requirements.

Choose the Living Room Lighting Temperature

Decide the temperature of the light you want in your living room. Light bulbs have different hues and shades of light depending on their temperature. If you want to create a warm, relaxing atmosphere in your living room, you should use ‘warm/soft’ bulbs.

‘Cool/bright’ light bulbs are perfect for stimulating productivity and are great for work areas. If your living room doesn’t have natural light, you can go with daylight bulbs. Moreover, you have to figure out how bright you want the light in your living room to be.

Use the Natural Light to Your Advantage

Your living room might not have an overhead light, but it will probably have one window, at least. Blinds and shades – even when rolled up or raised – eat up precious sunlight. You should consider removing them and opening up your space.

Even if you pull the curtains to the sides, they cover the windows partially and keep the sunlight from spreading all around into the living room. Make sure that you choose curtains that don’t block out natural light and make your room look demure and dull.

Conclusion

If your living room doesn’t have overhead lights, you can light the space up by using different types of lighting. From sconces and wall lights to table lamps and floor lamps, you can combine multiple light sources that will not only provide plenty of practical light but will also create atmosphere and depth.

Take inspiration from the creative ideas we have discussed above and learn how to light a living room with no overhead lighting easily!