How to illuminate and decorate a narrow room?

How to light and furnish a narrow room?

Furnishing and lighting a long and narrow room in a way that will make it appear more spacious and be both beautiful and practical is quite a challenge. However, light can work wonders, so read this article and learn good ways to arrange a room in the shape of an oblong rectangle.

What to pay attention to when decorating a narrow room?

• when decorating a long and narrow room, it is a good idea to divert attention from its width and focus on the length of the room. A simple way to achieve this effect and accentuate the length of a room with light is to install recessed LED strips in the ceiling or install modern strips with directional spotlights along the longer walls,
• another way to emphasize the length of a narrow room is to hang repeated, symmetrically arranged wall sconces along its longer walls. Modern wall light fixtures that illuminate both the ceiling and the floor, they will be a theatrical decoration of a minimalist space, plus they will make the room seem taller,
• another trick that will make your visitors focus on the arrangement of the room instead of focusing on the shape of the room, will be a striking, striking floor lamp or a pendant lamp with an unusual form. Opt for a few striking lampshades suspended from a ceiling plate or a designer lamp, hung in the corner above the coffee table, and you can be sure that everyone will only talk about it...
• try to illuminate all corners of the room well. You will be helped by wall sconces, floor lamps, but also pendant lamps, which have long since ceased to be a fixture reserved only for central lighting
• when choosing floor lamps, bet on those with a slender, high profile. A floor lamp with a thin arm and a small shade will perfectly decorate and illuminate a space without cluttering it,
• If you're looking for such a lamp, check out the Botanica XL standing lamp collection. These modern, slender lamps will not only add character to the space, but also, thanks to the design of the lamp's foot to serve the user as a pot cover, will further save space and create a real jungle in the house
• an interesting way to combat the narrow space is to introduce spherical furnishings that will stand in contrast to the linear nature of the space. If you feel this is something that will play in your living room, bet on spherical lamps, which you can read more about in our article.
• if you like custom solutions, bet on spider lamp - That is, one whose arms can be freely adjusted to the size and height of the room. In a long and narrow room, such a lamp will look much better than a single classic pendant lamp, and in addition, this solution will allow to illuminate a larger area.

Before you plan your lighting... - rules for any interior design

When choosing the type of lamps for an elongated room, do not forget the basic principles of lighting, which apply regardless of the shape of the space you furnish. According to these principles, keep in mind:

• layered lighting. When planning lighting, don't just focus on the main lighting. This is a common mistake that results in either an unpleasant atmosphere in the room, or another renovation and re-routing of the electrical system. So when planning your interior, keep in mind pendant lamps or ceiling spotlights, wall lamps, standing lamps and table lamps. Plan sockets and switches so that you can introduce different types of lamps into the interior. Lighting present at multiple heights / levels, will allow you to create an atmosphere of coziness and make you really feel at home.
• lighting tailored to functional areas. Adequate illumination of a house or apartment is just one of the functions of lighting. Light is meant to serve you in the activities you do in your home on a daily basis - working professionally, putting on makeup, picking out your closet, cooking, studying, and finally spending a romantic evening with your sweetheart(s) or playing board games with friends. So, when creating an electrical design, think about the functions of the lamps you will invite to your interior.

How to decorate a long and narrow living room?

We already know how lighting can help visually disenchant a narrow space. However, light is not everything, so you should also learn tricks for furnishing and arranging a long and narrow living room with accessories so that it does not resemble... a cozy bowling alley.

• if you have a narrow or small room it is worth arranging it in a simple and modern style. The worst thing you can do is "clutter" a small space with unnecessary equipment and decorations. In a narrow space, minimalism is as good as it gets.
• do not put all the furniture along the long wall, because you will achieve a bowling alley effect and you will be left with only a narrow strip of free space in the middle of the room. Put a coffee table in the middle, break the arrangement with a few transverse elements. Instead of one large sofa, bet on an arrangement consisting of several smaller chairs and armchairs.
• choose narrow and tall furniture and accessories. It is also a good idea to bet on furniture with visible legs. Such furnishings will add lightness to the arrangement and "draw out" the room.
• to make a narrow and long room appear shorter, paint the shorter walls with a paint one or two tones darker than the others. Such a procedure will make these walls optically "closer", and the room will seem more graceful.
• hang mirrors on the walls - it's a simple and perfect way to optically enlarge the space and bring more light into it. If you can't afford large panels, hang several mirrors symmetrically next to each other. If the room you are decorating has a relatively low ceiling, install floor-to-ceiling mirrors. This way it will appear higher.
• enter the "wow" effect. A very good way to draw attention away from the width of the room is to arrange an area that will catch the eye with striking color, texture, etc. It could be an armchair in a flashy, contrasting color, a designer lamp or a painting that you can't help but notice.
• a long room is also worth dividing into sections and functional zones, which will enliven the room and give it a dynamic character.
• many designers also suggest introducing into small narrow rooms elements with different textures and surface types: smooth, matte, patterned, glossy, etc.
• another "trick" to enlarge the space is to decorate one of the walls with an interesting wall mural.

We hope you already know how to light and decorate a long and narrow room. If you are looking for ways to interior lighting without central lighting or a room with relatively low height read our guide and remember that there are not really no bad interiors. It all depends on the light in which you present them.