Ceiling lights

[whostolethesocks]

I have a long narrow living room with full length windows one end (French doors) and have two ceiling light fittings. I'm really not sure what to get in terms of style of lights. As there are two I don't think I should get anything too over the top. House is about ten years old so modernish feel. Room is cream walls, teal accessories (curtains, cushions, etc), chrome fittings and brown leather sofas. And budget is not huge! Any ideas?

How high are the ceilings? If it's a modern house I'd guess not super high so you probably want to avoid anything too dangly. I'd probably go for simple drum shades (wider than tall to make the room seem wider).

this one is lovely, and has some teal and brown in it

I also rather like:

this

and this

Thanks minipie. I do like the first link but think I really need to go to JL and have a look at them (also noted that if you want a pair you should get them yourself to make sure they match). Quite like the second link but difficult to judge the size online (again I need to see at JL). Not sure about the last link. I don't think I like lights where you can see the light bulb. Thanks for responding. Hoping to go to JL soon to do some other shopping so will take a look.

try not to be tempted into getting downlighters. In years to come you will be left with awkward holes in the ceiling that are as fashionable as Artex and stone cladding.

they are also not very efficient at lighting a room.

No I won't do downlighters for the living room. Just very undecided about what to get. Also quite difficult to visualise in a shop how it would look in your room and what sort of light it would give.

Hmm, not sure I agree about downlighters. We have put them into our living room and it looks wonderful (if I say so myself ). Previously we had a single central pendant which was a much harsher effect. Now we have a downlighter towards each corner of the ceiling, which gives nice soft pools of light around the edge of the room. We also have lamps (wired up to main switch so they come on at the same time as downlighters). All on dimmers.

I don't like lots of straight rows of downlighters in the centre of the ceiling, but I think that towards the edge of the room, washing the walls, they can work really well.

However it's usually a hell of a job as you have to take up the floor above. We were lucky as the wiring was already in place.

Take up the floor above ? No way! We had downlighters put in lots of rooms (though not living room) in our low-ceilinged flat and I have never heard of this. Surely if there is an existing ceiling light this means there is wiring in place?

OP, what size is your living room and how high is the ceiling? As a general rule, it is better to have bigger light fittings than to have too-small ones, as the latter can really make a room look cheap. Big drums generally work well.

I've got these for my living room/diner for the place were doing up as the cilings are quite low & I hate energy bulbs so I wanted lots of bright lights.

direct.asda.com/ASDA-Crackle-4-Arm-Ceiling-Fitting/001739417,default,pd.html

saw them in my friends hallway & they're lovley & look more expensive.