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Lighting · Explainer · 6 min ·

How many lamps does a living room need? Switch them on one by one and see

One ceiling light makes a room bright but flat. Cosy rooms use layers: a dimmed ambient light, a task light where you read, and a soft accent pool or two, all at different heights and in the same warm white.

Switch the lamps on one by one in a living room seen from above, turn the ceiling down, change the room size and watch the reading chair, the sofa and the corners. Then read what to measure and look for, and how to rearrange what you already own before buying.

A top-down room in the evening with four lamps glowing warm in a dark room

What to buy, if anything

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