Decorating Your Living Room With Lights

Light living room ideas should be bright, spacious and welcoming – not dull, dreary or dated.

There are a plethora of sophisticated ways to enhance a light space, so dress your living room with best paint ideas, lighting tips and earthy neutral tones for a space that is airy, inviting and oh so stylish.

These bright, light living room ideas will help you add interest and intrigue – and have you reaching for the paint chart or the light bulb.

1. Light your living room right

Built-in bookshelves and a pair of armchairs in a white scheme.

Living room lighting is one of the most important considerations when designing a room scheme.

A common task undertaken in any living room is reading. 'For that, you need shadowless light,' says Rebecca Weir, creative director at Light IQ. 'One trick is to get an incredibly slim dedicated reading light to sit directly next to a more decorative table lamp. Plug it in under a sofa in a recessed floor socket so there are no wires trailing across the room.'

2. Consider outside influences

Scandinavian living room with wood floor, white walls and plants

Choosing a living room color scheme is one of the hardest parts of decorating a light living room because we only actually know the true color of something because it's sitting next to another color.

When you're thinking about color for your home, you have to first start by standing in the middle of the room and explore what will be around the color – where the light is coming in, the architectural qualities of the room and even what is outside the window. If you have foliage outside which the light has to filter through, that green is going to be cast throughout the room. These considerations will help you understand what the color will read as in the space.

3. Don't just reach for the white paint

'The trap that people fall into is that they consider dark living rooms to be wrong – and just paint them white,' says interior designer Rachel Chudley, Rachel Chudley Studio. 'I like to lean into the darkness and explore the depths of color,' she adds. 'Go for a very deep shade but in a high gloss paint and this will reflect the light around the room.'

4. Create a light-filled space for reading

As with other rooms of the house, layers of lighting are essential to set the right mood for a reading space in the living room.

Wall lighting on shelf spines work well as reading lights but consider the height of these when both standing and sitting down, recommends Sally Stephenson of Owl Lighting. 'You could also put them on the sides of shelves to enhance the living room seating area; they focus pools of lights and encourage spaces to pause.'

When creating a reading nook, a sofa in a bay window or a window seat are ideal spaces as they tend to enjoy plenty of natural daylight, but include a soft, dimmable downlight which can be operated separately from the rest of the room for darker evenings.

5. Use a palette of harmonious hues

A living room mirror idea with floor-to-ceiling mirrored walls either side of the fireplace

Choosing complementary color combinations is an art form that works beautifully in light living rooms. 'Pick one color as a foundation – from a favorite artwork, image or piece of clothing – to form the thread that runs through the space,' says Charlotte Archer, head of brand, Sanderson. 'Build your palette around this with complementary or tonal shades. My number one rule is: decorate for yourself, not others – choose tones that you love and you won't go wrong.'

6. Use scale to add instant impact to a light living room

Light living room with rattan table and chairs and patterned blinds

'Scale in interior design really drives how diverse you can be with color pairings: larger homes can take a looser palette; in smaller homes, it's best to keep the colors more concise – find three colors that harmonize and use them as a common thread for continuity,' says Charu Gandhi, founder and director, Elicyon.

'I enjoy using ivory, egg-yolk yellows with hints of navy, mixed with copper and metal accents. Old rose pink, nude and orangery tones is also a nice palette – the combination of dull shades creates a calm but sumptuous aesthetic. We're also using pastel lilac with thistle green and soft amber, which gives a pleasing visual sense – perfect for a light living room.'

7. Light up any dark corners

'Lighting is key to setting atmosphere in a dark or light living room,' says Penny Morrison, founder at Penny Morrison. 'I always illuminate rooms with lamps, except where there are very dark areas. Instead, I will put small downlighters in the corners of the room on dimmer switches. These can be used to gently enhance the illusion of daylight on a really dark day.'

'Even the simplest of schemes can be enriched with a well-placed chandelier,' says Annabel Astor, OKA co-founder. 'They add just the right dose of decadence and drama.'

8. Think about how you will use your space

Think about all the different people who will use a light-filled, family living room, including people of varying age ranges. 'We all like to think a room has plenty of light but as we get older, clarity and sharpness of vision start to be lost,' says Rebecca Weir. 'At this point, elements of strong lighting are needed to compensate.'

It's difficult to consider all the changes in lifestyle and interests that lie ahead so try and imagine a niece and nephew or grandparents coming to stay and all the small, fiddly tasks that might be required – from playing board games to knitting. Finally, where space allows, create a reading or crossword area with a small table and smart desk lamp.

Choosing a living room carpet in a classic base note will bring a sense of calm to your light living space. A neutral shade is a wise investment too, as its versatility and longevity adds value to your property. It will also make co-ordinating the flooring in different rooms a breeze – with a neutral palette, everything goes – enabling you to combine plains and subtle patterns, while keeping a consistent flow throughout the house.

10. Use white in a small living room

Neutral living room with modern taupe furnishings

Just like any other color, the variation in white tones ranges from cool through to warm. When decorating with white in any room, always buy a range of tester pots and paint large sheets of paper so you can see how they look in different lights throughout the day.

'If you're looking to increase the feeling of space in a room by using white, paint all walls and woodwork in the same shade,' says David Mottershead, managing director, Little Greene. 'Use it as you would a blank canvas, then add colorful furniture and collectibles.'

Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space.

Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.