Lighting

[hopeishere]

We have a central pendant in our family room and two lamps. But despite the brightest bulbs I can get it's still gloomy. I was thinking of getting some recessed lights in the ceiling as well. Would it look weird?

No, shouldn't look weird but make sure you get properly recessed ones (ie not with the bulb flush with the ceiling) to avoid glare.

Even better would be wall lights on a separate circuit from your ceiling pendant, if you can make that work. And have you considered a multi-bulb chandelier instead of a single pendant? Think about your lampshade(s) too, something that lets the light through the shade, not just out of the bottom and top, will give more ambient light.

Thanks. It is a multi bulb light but it still seems gloomy. What do you mean by properly recessed?

Photo of current light and planned recessed ones attached.

We have a main big light and four recessed lights in both front room and dining room. Both on dimmers so can be adjusted, works well for us.

I would try two things first- if your lightbulbs are leds, these can get much dimmer over time, so try changing the lightbulbs and make sure you choose ones with a warm colour temperature. The second thing I would do is to have a few table lamps below eye level, to make the room feel cosier and so that you are lighting the four corners of the room. If your lighting is all overhead, it will makethe room feel like a supermarket.

Thanks. The "back" corners of the room are a bit odd. I could many add a lamp on the piano. I was thinking four recessed lights equidistant from the central light. Or there are two alcoves on each side of the fireplace and I was thinking of recessed lights in there.

Good tip about the bulbs.

You can put downlights in the corners where you want light (ie not in a grid around the room, too officey). I can't make out your existing downlight very well, but the kind I mean is this sort of thing which sits recessed into the ceiling rather than leaving your bulb flush with it, as this softens the glare.

I'm strongly in agreement with @Happyoldbat about maximising light below ceiling level though, especially in a living area, it makes the room cosier. And put everything on (LED compatible) dimmers.

Ugh it lost my link! Try here:
https://www.astrolighting.com/products/1240024-taro-round-fire-rated

I've ordered a lamp for the piano. We have a spark coming next week so will have a think about ceiling lights then.