Hey everyone,
I’m renting this place with a super long rectangular living room and absolutely NO overhead lights. The only natural light comes from these two tiny, totally shaded windows at the far end (I attached a quick sketch, don’t judge!). We’ve been getting by with a few lamps, but honestly, it’s pretty depressing in here, especially during the day. My partner and I end up spending most of our time in the office instead.
I really want to brighten up the space, especially since I’d love to film some dog training videos, but everything I record looks like it’s from a dungeon! I need bright lighting but I can’t install anything in the ceiling (rental rules). Lamps don’t seem to cut it, but maybe there’s some style or type I haven’t thought of yet?
Any advice or recommendations would be amazing. Thanks so much in advance!
Hey! I feel your pain with the rental lighting situation. I was in the same boat and ended up going with a couple of tall arc floor lamps. They provide overhead-style lighting without having to mess with the ceiling, and some even come with dimmers, so you can control the brightness. I swear it changed the vibe of my living room completely…just my thoughts.
Have you thought about LED strip lights? You can stick them along the top of your walls or around furniture. I use them in my living room and they give off a surprising amount of light, plus you can change the color for different moods. Cheap, easy to install, and no need to drill!
You could swap out your regular bulbs for smart bulbs. You can control the brightness, and some even have different white light settings that mimic daylight, which might help with filming your dog training. I use them with regular lamps, and they’re much brighter than standard bulbs. Game changer!
It sounds strange, but have you tried adding a few mirrors to bounce light around the room? I added a big one behind a lamp in my dim living room, and it reflected the light so much that it felt like I doubled the brightness without adding more lamps.
If you haven’t already, try switching out your bulbs for daylight bulbs. They’re way brighter than regular ones, and the light they give off feels much more like natural light. I had the same issue in my apartment and it made a huge difference. Also, a big fan of those 3-way bulbs where you can adjust the brightness depending on what you need.
I’d recommend getting both table and floor lamps, but use different bulbs for day and night. For evenings, go with 2700K bulbs (for that warm, cozy vibe), and for daytime, switch to 5000K bulbs for a bright, daylight effect. The daytime bulbs should be a bit brighter than the evening ones, though, so you might need more lamps than usual to really light up the space.