Most living rooms have enough lamps. They're just in the wrong places: all on one wall, all at one height, or reflected in the TV.
Placement matters more than the lamps themselves. Here's where each one goes.
Rule 1: make a triangle
Picture the room from above. Put your three main lamps so that the lines between them make a triangle that covers most of the room.
If the lamps sit in a row along one wall, the far side of the room goes dark and the room feels smaller. Spread out, the same lamps make it feel bigger.
Rule 2: three heights
- Low: a table lamp on a side table.
- Eye level or higher: a floor lamp or a wall sconce.
- Small accent: a picture light, or a little lamp on a shelf.
Light at different heights is what makes a room look finished, not just lit.
Where to put a floor lamp in a living room
In the darkest corner, usually the one farthest from the window. Behind or beside an armchair works well, because it lights the chair for reading and washes the corner with light.
If it's your main light, choose one that throws light upward so it bounces off the ceiling.
Where to put table lamps
At the ends of the sofa, on side tables. The bottom of the shade should be at about seated eye level, roughly 38 to 42 inches off the floor, so you see the glow and not the bulb.
One lamp at one end is fine if a floor lamp balances the other side.
Which side should a reading light be on?
The light should come from behind you and slightly to one side, over your shoulder, onto the page. Never from in front of you, where it shines in your eyes.
At a desk, put the lamp on the side opposite your writing hand. Right-handed, lamp on the left, so your hand doesn't throw a shadow on the page.
Keep lamps out of the TV
Sit on the sofa with the TV off and look at the screen. Any lamp you can see reflected in it needs to move. Usually a few feet to one side is enough.
A small lamp lighting the wall behind the TV can make the screen easier on the eyes than a dark wall.
Hide every bulb
From where you sit, you shouldn't see a bare bulb. If you can, the lamp is too tall, the shade is too short, or the lamp is in the wrong spot.
Mistakes to skip
- All the lamps on one wall.
- A reading lamp in front of the chair.
- A lamp right beside the TV, where it glares in the screen.
- Cords across walkways. Route them along the wall and behind furniture.
FAQ
How many lamps should a living room have? Usually three to five, depending on size. Three in a triangle is the minimum for an average room.
Should a floor lamp go next to the sofa or a chair? Either, but a corner beside a chair often works best, because the sofa usually has a table lamp already.
Where do lamps go in a living room with no overhead lighting? The same rules, with one more light: a floor lamp that bounces light off the ceiling to do the ceiling light's job.
Every room, every lamp placed
The Lamp Plan, No. 04 in the Decorwick Measured Home Series, has 14 room recipes with every lamp placed on a plan, its height, lumens and bulb color, and the heights card for sofas, beds, sconces and pendants. See The Lamp Plan
