No ceiling light in living room. Too dark and dreary.
by
Betty
+15
I can't afford an electrician to come in and re-wire to add a ceiling light. What is an inexpensive way that I can make living room brighter. Have 3 lamps but not bright. Any ideas will help. nights and rainy days are the worst. Keep curtains open at picture window during day. Thanks.
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
if you have an available electrical plug, buy some string lights (like the white LED kind that is put on christmas trees) and use command hooks to run the light strings around your ceiling.. they dont add a LOT of light, but they help brighten things up.. also::
MIRRORS!! MIRRORS!! MIRRORS!! place them on walls, opposite where your lamps are, and let the mirrors reflect the light around the room :)
Consider adding swag lamps you can plug in and hang from a hook in the ceiling. You can position it pretty much anyplace near an outlet.
you can buy a swag lamp kit from a big box store like home depot. You can use almost anything for a shade. The lamp plugs into the wall outlet and you swag the lamp from two hooks in the ceiling.
What color are your walls and ceiling? You can try using pole lamps that project light up instead of down. I've gotten a few nice ones from thrift stores and on the Freecycle.org site. If your walls and ceiling are any color other than white, light gray or off white, maybe think of repainting them so that they reflect more light.
right now they are both off white but i will be re-painting soon to all white. like the pole lamp idea too. thanks cheryl!
You can also add a ceiling fan with a light kit with a swag kit
Purchase a couple swag lamps with the switch attached to the cords. Be sure to follow the directions for securing the support hooks to the ceiling. Very simple!
thanks for your idea david!
I have the same problem in my family room. So I bought several lamps and put them all over and it seems to be working quite well
i have 3 lamps in here right now but it is still so dreary. am tempted to take the shades off all 3.....lol. just miss not having a ceiling light. thanks for the suggestion teri!
How about a torchaire lamp....I have seen some that people use in the corner of their room and it shines up and gives a lot of light. I kow I did not spell it right but I think you know what I mean.....the floor lamp with the glass top pointed toward the ceilling.
yeah, i know what you're talking about pat. hadn't thought of that. good idea...will check it out. thanks bunches!