Usually the largest room in the house, the living room tends to be underlit, all those radiant personalities and scintillating conversations notwithstanding. To banish any pockets of gloom, place three lamps (floor or table) so that they form a triangle whose halos just meet or overlap when they’re all turned on. For a larger room, you may want to create separate intimate seating areas with two or three triangles of light. Here, too, avoid ceiling fixtures; they tend to draw attention to themselves rather than to the room and the people in it.

Take It Down

The universal solution to versatile lighting is, as Coleman proclaims, “dimmers everywhere!” Models like Lutron’s Credenza Lamp Dimmer (about $20 at hardware stores) take about 15 seconds to install: Just plug your lamp into it, then plug the dimmer into a wall socket. The control sits on a table or the floor.

Move It Back

Place floor and table lamps toward the back of sofas and chairs so they don’t block people’s views of one another or shine directly into their eyes. The bottom of the shade should fall below the eye level of anyone sitting next to it.

Floor It

Spotlights that sit on the floor illuminate and warm dark corners or showcase plants or art without requiring space-hogging tables to support them. To create an inviting ambient glow, try shining a few up behind a couch that’s about a foot from the wall. If you choose hot-burning halogen lights, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions about placement.

Raise or Lower It

Adjustable-height floor lamps let you change your light source to meet the needs of a situation — higher in a corner, lower near a seating area. Their adaptability is especially handy if you move a lot, change your decor to suit your mood, or shift furniture around when you have parties.

Floor Lamp (shown left)
Floor lamps should stand about five feet, taller for rooms with high ceilings. This cool industrial-looking model adjusts from 53 1/2 to 122 3/4 inches. Studio Adjustable Floor Lamp by Thomas O’Brien, $1,050, 212-966-1500.

Spotlight
A spotlight on the floor shines up to brighten and give drama to what would have been a dark corner.

Table Lamp
Where there’s seating, let there be light — positioned so that it doesn’t blind whoever’s next to it. Jamie Young Small White Glass Egg Lamp, $115, and Small Open Cone White Linen Shade, $95: www.jamieyoung.com for stores.