Lighting ideas for your living room ceiling

Welcome to lighting ideas for your living room ceiling. From watching TV to enjoying a hobby or throwing a party, there’s a lot going on in this room. You need a mix of lighting for your different activities and to help create different moods. And ceiling lights can be a strong part of that mix.

A lamp with a GULLSUDARE pendant lampshade hangs in a living room with a STOCKHOLM 2025 table lamp in one corner.

Why do you need lights?

Lights do different things in your home. They can light up the room so you and your eyes feel comfortable and you can find the remote controls. They can light up specific things or spaces, like pictures on your wall or your sofa area. And they can help create and change the mood in an instant.

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A beige VIMLE sofa and a white TONSTAD coffee table stand in front of the balcony doors in a sunny apartment.

A white stained oak veneer DYKARKLOCKA pendant lampshade with a lit light bulb inside it hangs from a ceiling.

A living room with a red-brown SALTSJÖBADEN three-seat sofa with chaise longue, surrounded by modern decor and plants.

An off-white/dot pattern black ODDNY cushion cover

A chrome-plated/opal white glass SIMRISHAMN pendant lamp, 3-armed in the hallway

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Lighting up your whole room

For things like tidying up or vacuuming, you need even light throughout your room. A light fairly high up, in about the middle of your room, can do the trick. A pendant, a ceiling lamp or a chandelier, for example. If you can dim it, you can turn it down at other times to give a soft, cosy light.

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A black/pine light brown stained ÄNGESBYN storage table

A black/white 8-armed STORSLINGA LED chandelier hangs from a ceiling in an industrial-style room with large windows.

A living room featuring a black-blue MANNARP two-seat sofa set against light walls with a decorative cabinet arrangement.

A small-space dining area with a beige LINANÄS sofa, a black SANDSBERG table with three black ADDE chairs and BÄCKNATE lamp.

A green STOCKHOLM 2025 cabinet with 2 doors in the living room

Lighting up a special area

Why not hang a pendant or even some decorative LED light bulbs over your sofa area or dining table? You’ll get light for the things you do there, and you’ll create a cosy room within a room feeling. Plus, if you can dim the light, you can set the right mood in an instant.

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Three globe grey clear glass MOLNART LED bulbs hang from the ceiling above a LYCKSELE LÖVÅS sofa-bed and a rug.

A white PEKTOLIT pendant lampshade, which has a lit light bulb inside it, hangs from a ceiling in a room with green walls.

A white YTLÄGE pendant lamp hangs over a small table which stands at the side of a sofa against a wall in a living room.

Two NYMÅNE LED pendant lamps hang over a brown STRANDTORP extendable table and some black NORDVIKEN chairs.

A turquoise REGNSKUR pendant lamp hangs over a table which stands in front of a sofa against a wall in a living room.

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Smart lighting gives you more

You can dim and change the tone of the light of smart LED bulbs like these. So you can have brighter, colder light to set the table and warmer light for dinner. IKEA smart lighting is full of possibilities. You can even set up different lighting combinations or “scenes”, and save them in an app, ready for instant use.

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The wireless dimmer/power switch of a TRÅDFRI starter kit lies on a green table underneath a white ZEBRASÄV pendant lamp.

A white ZEBRASÄV pendant lamp hangs over a table with food on it. The light brightens and the food is replaced with a laptop.

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What can you do with a low ceiling?

If your ceiling is low, a ceiling lamp is a good way to spread light throughout your room. It’s best to avoid a chandelier or a pendant that hangs too low down in the middle of the room where you walk. A pendant hanging down over a desk, table or coffee table can work well.

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Two brass/grey clear glass SOLKLINT pendant lamps hang from the ceiling in a room which also has a wall lamp on one wall.

A chrome-plated/opal white glass DEJSA ceiling lamp with 3 lamps is attached to a white ceiling in a room with beige walls.

A NYMÅNE LED pendant lamp hangs over a black LISABO table and two black LISABO chairs which stand on a LOHALS rug.

A brass/grey clear glass SOLKLINT ceiling lamp is attached to the ceiling in a room with a white and green colour scheme.

A matt/black KABOMBA LED ceiling lamp is attached to a ceiling in a room with tiled walls and white-framed windows.

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What about a high ceiling?

If you have a higher living room ceiling, you don’t have to worry about hitting your head on the light. So a chandelier or ceiling lamp or a pendant will all work well in the middle of your room. You can go for bigger pendants or why not hang up more than one?

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A black/white 8-armed STORSLINGA LED chandelier hangs from a ceiling above a sofa-bed and a SONHULT nest of tables, set of 2.

A RISBYN pendant lamp hangs above some modular LILLEHEM seating in a living room with IVAR cabinets on the wall.

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Highlight the things you love

Want to light up art on your wall, a display of your favourite objects on a sideboard, or a bookcase? Ceiling spotlights where you can adjust the direction of the light are great. The reflected light can add atmosphere to your room, too.

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A KRUSNATE ceiling spotlight with 4 spots is attached to the ceiling above some art on the wall and two storage units.

A NYMÅNE ceiling spotlight with 4 spots is attached to the ceiling in a room with a picture of flowers on the wall.

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Let your personality shine

Why not make a personal style statement with a pendant that stands out? These ones make a big impact even when they’re not lit. Some open out and change shape when you pull the string!