16 Bright and Beautiful Living Room Lighting Ideas

Use Wicker Shades

For a soft, natural diffusion of light, try out wicker shades in your living room. Not only do they add a bit of a boho vibe, but they also make your space feel more natural.

Try Out Naked Bulbs

Looking for more of an industrial vibe? Try hanging bulbs from the ceiling with no shades. It can give your space a unique look, and the metal accents from the bulb and its cord pair well with cozy neutrals.

A word of warning, though—naked bulbs may look cool, but they can provide a very harsh light. When evening rolls around, use light that's more diffused.

Hang a Pendant

Pendant lights have soared in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. Not only are they typically quite affordable, but they also provide a touch of style without becoming the centerpiece of a room. If you're looking for living room lighting that will complement your décor rather than distract from it, pendant lighting is key.

Bring On the Bookcase Lighting

Accent lighting is the key to making lighting work in any space, and your living room is no different. Living room accent lights are often placed on side tables or in corners, but they can also be placed above shelving or artwork too. Doing this highlights the contents below, and it can give your room a museum or library-worthy feel.

Use a Candle Chandelier

It's not often a lighting fixture can feel practically medieval and it's a good thing. But in this case, it certainly is. A (faux) candle chandelier oozes drama and elegance, and it can warm up even the coldest living rooms.

Don't Forget Floor Lighting

Not all living rooms have ceiling light options, especially if you're renting. And let's face it: sometimes overhead lighting is just not going to work well for your space. If either of these is the case, don't forget the power of a great floor lamp.

Look for one with multiple heads so that light can go multiple directions, and if you can, try to pick a floor lamp that looks less college dorm and more grown-up-apartment—your space will thank you.

Hang a Metallic Pendant

Metallic pendants are an easy way to make any living room feel a bit more luxe. With their reflective surfaces, metallic pendants bounce light around the room and provide visual interest, all while bringing the perfect amount of overhead lighting to your living room.

Spring for the Space Age

Space-age design is more than just bright colors and futuristic shapes—it's also filled with brilliant displays of light, like the sunburst chandelier. Sunburst chandeliers can provide your living room with a unique elegance, and they can bring light into every corner of your space.

Break Out the Edison Bulb

It's hard not to have a soft spot for easy vintage touches like Edison bulbs. Not only do they bring the perfect amount of steampunk style to your space, but they can also enliven even the most drab light fixture.

Cool It Down

If your living room is located in a particularly hot climate, consider trying out a combo ceiling-fan-and-light. Gone are the bulky, noisy ceiling fans of years past—now you can get a sleek and quiet one that will cool down your space just as much as it provides modern style.

Add Fireplace Lighting

A pair of wall lights flanking your fireplace are the finishing touch your living room needs. They'll bring the perfect amount of cozy cottage style to your space, and they're a great way for your fireplace to be a source of light even when it's not lit.

Be High and Mighty

Remember, living room lighting doesn't have to be low-hanging or eye-level-height, even if it's a chandelier. For a look that makes your space look taller than it is, keep your light fixture close to the ceiling. Not only is it a different and unique way to style lighting, it will also keep you from bumping your head too.

Stay Minimal

Love the vibe of chandeliers, but not the visual busy-ness of them? Go for a pared-down, minimalist approach to one instead. A simpler chandelier is the perfect finishing touch for a modern or minimalist living room, and their unique look will make your space stand out.

Try Out Texture

Living room lighting (or any lighting, really) doesn't have to be built from the usual suspects of metal or glass. Instead, embrace interesting texture by using lighting that incorporates unordinary materials like caning, beading or hatching.

Consider Asymmetry

A room with too much symmetry can sometimes feel clinical or generic. To fight against this, you can arrange furniture so that it's off-center or bring in decor that doesn't stick to the straight and narrow. Another way to create asymmetry? Lighting! Pick a lighting fixture that embraces being off-kilter and enjoy your barely-symmetrical space.

Go Geometric

For a bold lighting look that will be the centerpiece of your living room, try out a geometric light fixture. The angled and linear look of a geometric light fixture is an easy way to provide structure to a room.