Lamps as Living Room Design Elements

Lighting in any room is key to defining a space, and this is especially true in the living room. While natural light is an essential component for daytime living, living room lamps can recreate the space when the sun goes down. There are many lighting options for your living room space but living room lamps are more intimate and allow for an added flair of design. Even within the sub-category of living room lamps, though, there are a wide variety of types of lamps such as table lamps, floor lamps, and wall lamps. Below is a breakdown of these various living room lamps, tips on where to place them, and a description of how the various styles can complement a space differently.

Floor Lamps

Of all styles of living room lamps, floor lamps are the most versatile because they can virtually occupy any empty space in the floor plan, depending on the size of their base. Modern styles of living room lamps have gone outside the realm of the typical sleek and vertical floor lamp design of more traditional home décor styles. Where contemporary floor lamps, sometimes referred to as a floor torchiere, were once space savers that mainly occupied an otherwise unused corner, these living room lamps have more recently become statement pieces that are often paired to flank other design elements such as a fireplace or piece of art. There’s only one rule when placing a floor lamp in the living room, and that is not to place it within the footpath of traffic or a door swing. Here are some tips on where to place your floor lamp:

• Placing floor lamps aside a television can reduce glare and soften contrast.
• Position a floor lamp to the side of a reading chair, so the lamp shade is about at eye level when seated to avoid eye strain from reading.
• Adding a floor lamp to a conversation space, along with a few chairs and small coffee table, can make for a cozy sitting circle.
• Pairing a floor lamp with a large house plant can create a dramatic shadow element as the light casts over the plant’s leaves.

Wall Lamps

This style of living room lamps can add subtle accents to any space but are especially elegant when used in the living room. Furthermore, the shadows that cast up the wall add a nice touch to any style of home décor, so long as the design of the sconce is consistent with the overall design theme of the room.

• Mount wall lamps on both sides of a fireplace to accentuate the mantel.

Table Lamps

Of all living room lamps, table lamps are the most popular and are often sold in pairs to accent either end of a couch and placed atop matching end tables. But modern home décor trends allow for some leigh way with this traditional placement of living room lamps. The new definition of table lamps is that they do not in fact have to come in matching pairs, though selecting lamps that complement each other is recommended. For instance, two lamps that have different bases made of the same texture with matching or complementing lampshades add a playful twist to traditional living room lamp trends. Another modern twist on living room lamps are USB-charged, cord-free lamps that can last quite a while on a charge. Though not as bright as electric living room lamps, they come without the price of cluttered electric outlets and wires. Other styles of this nature feature bright LED lights and run on regular batteries.

• You can place table lamps on virtually any surface amid dark space that needs illumination. However, placing table lamps in the traditional corners of a room will radiate light inward, toward the middle of the space, which is essentially what you want to do.
• If two people share a space and are significantly different heights, varying the table and lamp height can better accommodate their varying lighting needs.