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Original poster

Ceiling lights a must?

27 replies

Yayapapaya · 29/04/2015 07:42

Do you think you ought to have a main light in the middle of the ceiling of the living room? Obviously you don't have to, but I can't find any I like for our new living room and think it's mostly because we hardly ever use the central one - tend to just use lamps and things elsewhere.
Will I regret not having one? Could I get rid of the existing fitting and fit a decorative ceiling rose instead?
Or maybe there are some fabulous lights out there that I am missing.
Interested in what others have in their houses.

OP posts:
wormshuffled · 29/04/2015 07:46

When we moved into our house it had no central light, it didn't look weird at all, but we put one in as didn't like stumbling in in the dark. Is down lights an option if you don't like any actual fittings?

Khalinda · 29/04/2015 07:56

We had the same issues along with low ceilings. We did put in a central one - but we never use it and are thinking of putting on a long flex and pulling it along the ceiling to a corner (do you know what I mean?) (kind of Scandinavian style). In hindsight we shouldn't have bothered as we too just use side lights.

HowlyBabblyBansheeeeeee · 29/04/2015 08:01

I don't think a 'big' Grin light is necessary if there are sufficient lamps. I do think one of them should be operated from a switch inside the door.

Original poster
Yayapapaya · 29/04/2015 08:03

Not really a fan of down lights, either, a bit too modern for the style of the room.
Khalinda, have never heard of the Sacndinavian fitting you mention, but again, sounds too modern.
I'm fussy but it doesn't help not knowing exactly what I do like in this case!

OP posts:
Original poster
Yayapapaya · 29/04/2015 08:04

Yes Howly, I think if we chose not to have a central light, it wall switch could just be for a wall mounted one instead.

OP posts:
thehumanjam · 29/04/2015 08:54

We don't have them for the same reasons. We have lamps and a wall light, sometimes I just wish I had a little more brightness in the evening especially when I'm reading. Although if dh had his way we would sit in complete darkness.

Celeriacacaca · 29/04/2015 10:35

We don't have ceiling lights in a south-facing living room, just lamp points, and I now wish we had put them in. At times during the winter, even with the amount of light it gets, it still feels a bit too gloomy for me. If doing again I'd put dimmable halogens (or whatever they're they called) to avoid having a light fitting, along with lamp points to soften the light.

Spell99 · 29/04/2015 10:43

Im not sure id fit one if it wasn't there, but i certainly wouldn't remove one that was installed already. You never know when you might want to sell and find someone who thinks its essential. Or you could just change your mind about its importance.

bodingading · 29/04/2015 10:56

We have 1920s -ish opaline globe pendants. Some are original to the house and some are made up from restoration hardware supplies. I hate to see a bulbs so I love them. It's a very diffuse, forgiving light. We have smartbulbs in them so you can have candlelight or daylight etc.

We also don't have any lights centrally placed - we have one in the corner in our bedroom (so not over the bed) and grouped or lined up in other rooms.

dotty2 · 29/04/2015 11:00

We have a small snug/dining area off our kitchen which didn't have any ceiling lights when we bought the house. We have made do with floor standing uplighters for 10+ years (mainly because I thought there must be a problem with the logisitics and that was why they hadn't been fitted before). We have just had dimmable spotlights fitted as we were renewing the kitchen lighting and thought we'd see if we could get these done at the same time. I now can't think why we didn't get it done sooner! Sure, we'll use a lamp for a nicer light/cosier feel most of the time, but there are times when you just want to flick a light on quickly and switching on lamps feels like a hassle - or want good light for doing a job in there etc.

sourdrawers · 29/04/2015 11:44

How about those tracks with the moveable spotlights on them?

Original poster
Yayapapaya · 29/04/2015 17:14

You're right, it would be silly getting rid of it altogether. I just can't get inspired by any of the lighting I've seen. Even Pinterest isn't throwing up any great ideas. Sorry don't like the sound of the spot lights on tracks, seems too kitcheny for me. I want discreet, elegant...bah, I don't really know what I want.

Such a trivial thing, seeing as I'm sure it won't even get used, but it's bugging me and we need to get it sorted as we're having someone come in to do other electrical work for us, so only opportunity (high ceilings and not a fan of that sort of DIY).

Any other ideas for inspiration?

OP posts:
RoganJosh · 29/04/2015 18:01

We would have got rid of ours if we hadn't found www.jimlawrence.co.uk

We never use them.

Original poster
Yayapapaya · 30/04/2015 04:49

Thank you so much for that link Rogan, there are some gorgeous lights on there, I could be tempted! How do people find these things...when you google light fittings the first pages just seem to be bog standard B&Q, Homebase, Dunelm etc.
This sort of thing though could be exactly what I'm looking for.

OP posts:
bodingading · 30/04/2015 06:58

If you like Jim Lawrence (and I do! I have three lovely pendants over my dining table and their customer service is a+), you may also like:

Fritz Fryer
John Moncrieff in Scotland
Garden Trading

FairyPenguin · 30/04/2015 07:09

We have one in our living room but never use it as we prefer the wall lights. Waited ages to find a really nice decorative light and it's a real feature of the room (even if it's never on!).

lavendersun · 30/04/2015 07:20

We have three wall lights (15 foot square room), a standard lamp and two table lamps. I buy the Philips Tornado 23W bulbs for the lamps and have led candles in the wall lights.

Massively bright with them all on, brighter than my parents house where they have two big ceiling lamps with 5 arms. It wasn't until I discovered the 23W bulbs though.

I think you have to spend a few quid to get a decent low energy bulb - once you do that rather than buying the cheap 11W ones they give a decent amount of light.

Mum4Fergus · 03/05/2015 11:02

Watching with interest...I'll be doing open plan living/dining/kitchen this year. Planning spots in the kitchen but no ceiling lights in dining or living area. Putting up back lit coving instead ...

JulesJules · 03/05/2015 11:28

We don't have a central light in our living room - three wall lights instead, plus table lamps. We usually just have the table lights on in the evening.

We inherited the wall lights when we bought the house, but I don't miss having a big central light at all.

Original poster
Yayapapaya · 04/05/2015 03:21

Jules - do you not have any light then at all operated by the main wall switch?
The only time I can think I might use the main light is just to enter the room when dark so I can see to switch on the side lights instead. Seems a bit of a waste though for a grand fitting if that's all it's used for. Even if it were dimmable, think I still prefer the intimacy and cosiness little lights dotted about the place gives.

OP posts:
MillyMollyMandy78 · 04/05/2015 04:09

We have exactly the same problem but feel inspired after seeing that Jim Lawrence website

Moreisnnogedag · 04/05/2015 05:49

Oh wow thanks for those links. We only have side lights in our living room (v low ceilings) and have always been unimpressed with what's available but some of those are great!

Personally if you have high ceilings I definitely wouldn't get rid of central light and would go for a lovely decorative light fixture.

JulesJules · 04/05/2015 09:39

Sorry, yes. the wall lights are switched on by the light switch on the wall next to the door. So you're not stumbling around in the dark switching them on. That would be a pain Grin But no big central light.

Crocodopolis · 04/05/2015 12:40

I have two birdcage chandeliers in my sitting room as well as one floor lamp and one table lamp. Overhead lighting is a must for me. I also like lamps so that I can direct the light more directly.

Millymollymama · 05/05/2015 16:15

We have no ceiling lights in our family room but 3 x double wall-lights and serveral lamps. John Lewis has all sorts. Christopher Wray is phenominal if you can afford it.

We are thinking about removing our central lights - 2 - in our lounge in favour of small down lighters in a square formation either side of the cetral beam. They are polestar from John Cullen. At one end of this room we have a large floor lamp with a large arching lamp. The rooms are not dark if you have layers of lighting and a central light is very, well, central! It does nothing for adding interest and targetted lighting. Occa Home has lovely lights and lamps too.