Your Guide to Pendant Lighting for your Living Room

Most of the rooms in our homes are designed for specific tasks like dining, sleeping, or cooking, but living rooms are versatile spaces, and so, need flexible lighting to match. Pendant lighting is more often than not, the go to choice for living room lighting to add flair and personality, but choosing the right pendant lighting can make or break your living room, both in terms of aesthetic, and function.

Getting your living room lighting right is about finding lighting that will help you to unwind, but also to socialise, and often, complete simple tasks, like reading. In this guide, we help you make pendant lighting choices that are well thought out, and that can be adjusted depending on the use of the room; pendant lighting that makes a statement, but remains functional for everyday use.

Use pendant lighting to make a design statement

This is the most common use of pendant lighting in living rooms, and is most commonly added central to the room to add that “wow” factor. There are, however, other ways you can use pendant lights to make a design statement.

Consider adding a line of pendant lights that run the length of your lounge suite. Instead of one bold statement, create a row of pendants that work to provide light to socialise, to read, or to focus light on a central location within your living room.

Tip: don’t go too bold when grouping pendant lights, so as not to overwhelm the space. Mini pendant lights, or shaded pendant lights are a great option for this.

Tip: for something a little different, try mixing and matching your pendant lights. Try one style in different sizes, or slightly different styles keeping to a similar theme, or even hanging your group of pendant lights at different heights to create a point of interest, as well as helping to spread light more evenly.

Another great way to make a statement of your pendant light is to consider placement in an otherwise unused space. Think cluster pendant in a corner of your living room. This serves two purposes. One, it fills a void, and creates a point of interest. Two, with the right choice of pendant, it can provide subtle ambient light to the rest of the space, much like a floor or table lamp.

Use shaded pendant lighting to create mood

There are a few ways you can use shaded pendant lights to create mood in your living room.

Use open shades to cast shadows

A perfect example of this would be the use of cage lighting. Cage pendant lights, by definition, feature an exposed globe surrounded by a structured cage.  They tend to have an inherently industrial feel, and this is no coincidence.  Cage lighting has it’s origin in building sites and industrial warehouses, where globes were enclosed within a metal cage to protect the globe from being broken.

Cage pendant lights create a pretty amazing light show, throwing shadows onto surrounding walls and ceilings by bouncing light off and through the cage, adding an inviting warmth and ambience to your space.

The other benefit to the open design of a cage pendant light, is that they allow interaction between spaces, people and even, the outdoors. 

Use solid shades to diffuse light

Where cage lighting celebrates the throw of light around a room, solid shades, help to soften light in a space, as well as direct light to where you need it most. A pendant light with a solid shade placed over a reading chair, for instance, will direct light down to where you need it. That same pendant light placed behind your favourite chair will contribute to the general lighting within your living room via a soft back light, perfect for sitting back watching TV, or socialising after dinner.

Play with shade texture

This is where selecting pendant lights with a shade come into their own. Your pendant shade can be a reflection of your own style and personality, but it can also create an inviting warmth to the space. Think pendant lights with natural materials, such as timber or rattan. The neutral tones and warmth of natural elements can create it’s own inviting ambience in your living room.

Pendant Lighting as a Primary Light Source

For many people, pendant lights, particularly in the living room, are often used as the main source of lighting. If this is the case, there are some things you can take into consideration to ensure you are getting the most out of it, without losing task lighting or that “feel” that you are creating within your living room.

Choose pendant lights with dimming options

Dimming options essentially allow you to adjust the brightness of your pendant light. Have it brightly lit for completing tasks, and then reduce the brightness when you are ready to relax and unwind, generally, all at the simple turn of a dial on your wall control.

Create layers of light

We touched on it earlier, that we are so often used to looking at pendant lights as a single fixture in a room, and so, tend to add that one fixture that will become the hero. There is nothing wrong with having a hero piece, but it is important to remember that a good lighting plan is a layered lighting plan.

Floor or table lamps are the easiest, and often most cost effective, way of achieving a layered lighting plan. A thoughtfully placed floor lamp can provide task lighting, without compromising the soft ambient light from your pendant. And, on the flip side, it can provide a soft back light when it’s time to relax, without the need to turn on overhead lighting.

Many people make the mistake of choosing lighting on looks alone, but when it comes to picking the right pendant lighting for your living room, not only is it important to install a pendant that compliments the room, but it’s essential to make sure it will also service the needs of your space.

Rovert Lighting and Electrical stock a wide range of pendant lighting styles to choose from, backed by a team of lighting experts who can assist in selecting the right pendant lighting for your living room.