how to light a room with no overhead lighting
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How To Light A Room With No Overhead Lighting

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The way a room is lit usually determines how you feel and enjoy your time in that room. 

Overhead lights are one of the best sources to make sure a room is brightly lit but when you’re in a home that doesn’t have the option for overhead lights, you’ll probably be slightly stressed by this.

The good news is that you can make a room brighter even if there is no overhead lighting. 

Floor lamps, table lamps, plug-in lights, wall sconces, plug-in pendant lights, LED lights, or even string lights to natural light coming through windows and doors will be a great way to light a room with no overhead lighting.

These are some of the best ways to light a room with no ceiling lights that do work.

Here you’ll learn the absolute best alternatives to overhead lights that will still give you a decent amount of light.

Let’s get to it.

12 Ways To Light A Room With No Overhead Lights

1. Place Floor Lamps In The Room

Floor Lamp Ideas

Make your home look better by having floor lamps next to a sofa, chair, or desk.

This can be a great source of light to create different moods depending on what you need.

Floor lamps are generally a great feature of any room and you may even place more than one in a room if you need more light it fills up empty corners in a room which is a great benefit to them.

2. Use Two Table Lamps

Table Lamps Overhead Light Alternatives

If you’re looking for something smaller, you could use table lamps instead.

Since these lamps are a common feature in most rooms, they do provide a sufficient amount of light that can be quite useful to brighten up a room.

They’re also affordable and easy to use and since this isn’t a bulky item, you may place as many as you need in the room.

Related Post: Are Table Lamps Necessary? (7 Best Lamp Alternatives)

3. Let In Natural Light

Natural Light For Room With No Overhead Light

The next best thing you can do is allow natural light to brighten up the room.

This would mean using a very light thin curtain or pushing them aside during the day to allow light to flow in.

If it’s safe to do so, you can even leave the doors open for more light.

Positioning a mirror in a place that will reflect this light will be a huge help in brightening the room as mirrors are great at creating a sense of depth as well as bouncing light back into a room.

House Beautiful also recommends utilizing colors in your home to allow natural light to reflect throughout the space such as sticking with light, neutral shades for the walls and floors.

4. Install Wall Sconces

Using wall sconces is the perfect option if you want to save space but also make your decor look classy.

There is a range of wall sconces where you can just plug it into the wall. Having them on a few walls will easily brighten up the room to a certain extent.

I love these wall sconces from Amazon.

They will add a lovely detail to your space and bring light into the room.

The main benefit to these types of lights is that they consume less energy which means you’ll get to save and be energy efficient.

5. Consider Using Uplights

Another option you could try is having uplights in the room. Uplights are lights that will direct lights upwards toward the ceiling, making the room appear brighter.

You may even find these lights in different colors which can easily create a fun and playful vibe while also enhancing your decor.

Otherwise, these lights are pretty cheap and they’re a better and safer alternative to using candles.

6. Hang String Lights

Using string lights is another great way to light up a room.

This will also give a nice aesthetic look to the decor while also making a certain section of the room brighter.

You can hang these string lights anywhere in the room where you need them and although they’re a relatively cheap option, it is a cost-effective, durable, and versatile solution.

7. Use Plug-In Pendant Light

Pendant Light Ideas

If you want a gorgeous pendant light in your home or apartment, you can have one by using a plug-in pendant light.

For those who are leasing, you may have to query if it’s okay to hang the light from the ceiling but otherwise, this option does not require any wiring so you’re good to go.

This pendant light from Amazon will look amazing in your home!

The great thing about pendant lights is since they hang down, you’re sure to get a good coverage area for the light but more so, this style of light will make your decor look gorgeous.

8. Try LED Flameless Candles

There are so many fire hazards to using real candles that lighting more than one may give you more stress than relief.

You could opt for LED flameless candles which you can place in many areas of the room to brighten up the place.

Though it may not look as nice as a real candle would, it will still give a fair amount of light.

9. Install LED Strips

This type of light is vastly popular these days and the attraction is mainly based on aesthetic purposes and for the colors themselves.

These LED lights are cost-effective and easy to install almost anywhere in the room.

They also have a longer life span, brighten quite a large area, and use way less energy than normal bulbs would. It’s a great option worth looking into!

10. Use Portable Lights

Using portable lights is ideal since you can use them in just about any room whenever you need them.

These lights are great at illuminating a room and they’re pretty easy to set up. With this light, you won’t need any others. 

11. Have A Tree Lamp

Try having at least one tree lamp in the room as this would be a great way to add some light to a room and also increase its visual appeal. 

Buy Now From Amazon

Tree lamps are a beautiful source of light that will make any decor look good. 

12. Utilize Battery Powered Lights

The most obvious way to light a room with no overhead lighting would be to use battery-powered lights.

This option is ideal for those who can’t make use of wiring or if there are no available wall plugs to use.

If you want to be more energy-efficient or save on the cost, using battery-powered lights will be a good idea to try and you’ll have an easy and simple method to light up your home.

When the batteries run out, you can just replace them or get rechargeable batteries. 

Conclusion

It’s wonderful to see just how many alternatives there are to overhead lights and a lot of these options to light a room with no overhead lighting are quite cost-effective and are a great source of light.

Depending on just how bright you need the room to be, this will give you an idea of how many lights you need to include.

I’d love to recommend using various light sources as mentioned in this list rather than just using one option.

This will give variety to your decor, making it look more interesting and creative while also enhancing its visual appeal which can be an amazing improvement to the way the room looks.

I hope you found these ideas helpful and if you have any suggestions or questions, do leave them below.

For now, here are some other topics you’ll probably enjoy reading:

Why Is My Room Dark? (Tips To Brighten A Dark Room)

How Can I Decorate My Bedroom Ceiling? (Easy & Cheap Ideas)

What Can I Hang From My Ceiling? (13 Smart Ideas)

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