As the name implies, this is an area of the house where people usually gather.

Add layers of light in this room to achieve some key results.

Watching the Super Bowl with the gang, visiting with family or reading a book all require different types of lighting.

If your room has a cathedral or sloped ceiling, adding general lighting such as recessed cans is important to fill the upper half of the room with light. This will keep the room’s corners and upper space from looking dark. A large chandelier that adds overall illumination will also work to keep the room well lit.

For rooms with standard ceiling heights, place recessed lighting in the outer perimeter to give the lighting in the room a balanced look with no dark spots.

Many people also like to add ceiling fans to the great room, especially if they have a high ceiling. This is the best way to circulate air in the summer for cooling. You can also reverse your blade spin in the winter to draw the heat down. Be sure to purchase a fan with a remote that has a reverse button to make this easier with high ceilings.

If you are adding a fan to a room with recessed lighting, be sure that your recessed lighting maintains an outer perimeter so the light is not intersected by the fan blades. If the light hits the blades when they are spinning, it can cause a ‘strobing’ effect. Some people are very sensitive to this and it can cause dizziness. Please confirm room size, fan size and recess placement with any of our lighting showroom staff during your room planning.

Consider supplementing living room lighting with accent lights to graze a stone fireplace or highlight artwork above the mantle or around the room. This can be achieved with properly placed recessed lighting or track lighting.

Wall sconces add a coziness to the room while creating up-lighting to complement high ceilings. Place them so they flank the sides of wall units or flat screen TVs. It’s a great idea to put these on a dimmer so you can lower the lighting for TV viewing.

Portable lamps are always a must-have as task lighting for these all-purpose rooms. Reading and relaxing may not require that the whole room be illuminated. Use floor lamps to light up an unused corner or reading nook. Add table lamps to fill in the spaces between pieces of furniture to spread light evenly around a room. Remember to use inline dimmers to control the light levels on these lamps to create the desired lighting ambiance for your task.