Architectural products used in this room:

Double Tray Ceiling embellished with:

Nova cove molding NZ19 on the inner tray

Fresno crown molding NAL28 and LED lights

Bermuda ceiling medallion NR15

Della crown molding NZ21

Living Room Lighting

Friends and especially family tend to the ambience of a living room. It can be forbidding no-man's-land or a pleasant inviting place to sit and share good conversation.  The right lighting often makes al the difference. The living room on the picture uses a variety of lighting sources for maximum flexibility and impact. All lighting fixtures in this room have dimmers to set any desired mood. Serene in its commitment to the color and wide open space, this living area owes much of its presence to the molding for indirect lighting. Large window picture below welcomes the light that pours in during the day, and the color of the walls and furnishings maximize is effect. But when daylight fades, crown molding lighting bounces of the ceiling and bathes it with in a gentle glow. Strategically placed recessed lights provide genuine overall illumination. Just because a room boasts a lot of natural light doesn't mean it needs minimal lighting. Plan to include general, task, and accent lighting in any room, so each area will be as livable after dark as it in the daytime.

Every activity that takes place in the living room has special lighting requirements, so start by making a list of those activities. A reading chair requires intense task lighting. Plan moderate lighting over the coffee or game table. For the TV and computer, use low general lighting that doesn't create glare. Concentrate on general lighting in addition to task and mood lighting. Chandeliers with dimmers are good for providing ambient light.

The dimmers allow you to create mood with lighting fixtures by adjusting light levels to create a mood. If you will read, watch TV, do paperwork, or perform some other activity, you'll have to provide specific task lighting. In general floor lamps that are 40 to 49 inches from the floor to the bottom of the shade provide generous light spread. Adjustable lamps provide wonderful tusk lighting. Table lamps with shades are ideal because they direct light upward and downward with little glare. For reading the bottom of the shade should be just below eye level. Each smaller area within a living room must have its own lighting dictated by activity. Living room is perhaps the busiest room in the house. This space often has to pack in a lot - from TV viewing to play and other family activities.

Displaying Small Decorative Objects
Decorating Tips:


- Extremely delicate objects with subtle details and small scale, semiprecious stones, or hand-blown glass bottles or balls, for example, look bet when displayed as a collection on a plate, dish, or tray so that they don't become lost among larger items on the same table or look to lonely.

- If you have small porcelain objects, you can place a decorative hand-panted plate behind them as a frame for needed emphasis.

- If you have several small leather books, put three or four on the top of each other, and some delicate decorative item or flower on the top. Place this stack on the table or chair in the corner.

- If you have a pen collection, you may want to lay several of the pens on the ceramic or glass plate where they will make a statement.