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Lighting Rules You Should Never Ignore

Published 18 days ago • 1 min read

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Hello Reader,

In today’s newsletter, we’re going to talk about one of the most common lighting mistakes that can completely ruin the feel of your living room. Using only ceiling lights, especially when they are placed directly above where you sit like - over the sofa - might seem convenient, but it actually creates harsh shadows on your face, makes the space look flat, and leaves the entire room feeling dull and poorly lit. This simple placement mistake can take away all the warmth and comfort your living room is supposed to have.

To avoid this common issue, it's important to use a balanced mix of different types of lighting instead of relying only on ceiling lights. Always combine ambient lighting to softly light up the entire room, ceiling lights for general brightness, and task lighting like floor or table lamps near sofas or reading spots. This layered lighting setup not only removes unwanted shadows from your face but also adds warmth, depth, and character to the space. It helps create a more inviting, comfortable, and visually balanced living room that actually feels good to spend time in.

When installing ceiling lights, try not to position them directly in the middle of the room. Instead, keep them about 24 inches (610 mm) away from the wall. This simple adjustment helps spread light across the walls, not just downward.

When it comes to a general thumb rule for spacing between two ceiling lights, a good starting point is to take the ceiling height, divide it by 2, and then subtract 12 inches.

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Bhupesh Kumar

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