A friend of mine had done some remodeling in his living room in which he added a new tv wall. The overall design of the wall is beautiful but it lacked lighting. After spending a lot of time we finally got the lighting done which suited the design of tv wall.
Here, i am going to share the methods and every details of lighting the tv wall properly and beautifully.
Lighting the tv wall in living room
How to choose the light source
LED strip lights, recessed lights, track lights, ceiling mounted led spot lights, pendant lights are some of the light sources that can be used to light the tv wall. These light sources can be used individually to light the tv wall or in combinations.
When to use LED strip lights on tv wall
If the tv wall has a lot of horizontal and vertical panels then LED strip lights can be used to emphasize the design.
Now what part of the tv wall to highlight by LED strip lights depends upon the overall lighting in living room. If there are already other light sources around the tv wall then to avoid visual clutter, LED strip lights should be used in a subtle way.
For example, see the image below in which there is a TV wall in living area with visual clutter.
The Tv wall above has only one side illumuinated by LED strip lights. This much use of LED strip lights is perfect when there are many light sources present around the tv wall.
However, when there are limited number of light sources present around the tv wall say 4 to 5 light sources, then LED strip lights can be used to highlight any specific part of Tv wall as shown in the image above and below.
The lighting for tv wall should highlight the design elements of the wall such that the lights does not make watch tv difficult.
summary :
The more the light sources around tv wall, less or subtle should be the use of LED strip lights.
It is very easy to overdo LED strip lights on tv wall. Before sticking LED strip lights, take a good look at how many light sources are already present aroung tv wall so that visual clutter can be minimized.
When to use recessed lights on tv wall
If the design of tv wall has popped out horizontal elements like shelves such that the space between the horizontal elements and the top of tv is greater than 18 inches then use recessed lights under those elements to light the tv wall.
Size and placement of recessed lights over tv wall
For most tv walls, 3 inch recessed lights are enough to illuminate the wall behind tv. Bigger size recessed lights should be avoided as the requirement of lighting the tv wall is just to add a soft illuminating on the wall behind tv.
If a bigger and brighter recessed light is used then it may cause the wall to become too bright and ultimately cause visual clutter.
The recessed lights should be placed at a distance of just 2 or 3 inches from the wall. because placing the recessed lights far from the wall will cause the light to fall directly over the tv screen which may impair viewing experience.
Also, to space the find the space between teo adjacent recessed lights on tv wall,
Divide the length of the horizontal shelf or horizontal design element in ft by 2. The result gives the space to be kept between two adjacent recessed lights.
When to use track lights on tv wall
When the tv wall is mostly plain and there is no space on tv wall to install recessed lights then track lights can be used to illuminate the tv wall.
Track lights can also be used when there are so many other light sources already present near the tv wall such that LED strip lights cannot be used, then track light can be used there.
Placement and beam angle of track lights
Ideally for illuminating the tv wall, The track lights should be mounted on the ceiling at a distance of 3 feet from the wall behind tv.
The beam angle of track lights should be 38 degrees.
When to use pendant lights near tv wall
Pendant lights can be used on the tv wall when a particular part of tv wall is to be illuminated. For example, see the below .
Apart from this if the overall lighting on the tv wall is boring, then pendant lights can also be used to provide glitter effect to the tv wall
what size pendant lights for tv wall
Generally speaking, for properly illuminating certain parts of tv wall, each pendant light should be 6 inches wide whereas for adding only glitter to the tv wall, pendant lights should be 4 to 5 inches wide.
Placement height of pendant lights on tv wall
Pendant lights should always hang at a height that is below the top part of tv.
If pendant lights are hanged above the tv then the lights may cause glare while watching tv. Hence, always hang pendant lights such that the bottom of pendant lights is at a gap of 4 – 5 inches below the top of the tv.
From the wall the pendant lights should be installed at a distance of 3 inches to get nice spread of light on the tv wall.
Lighting a tv wall in bedroom
In a bedroom, the tv wall should be minimally illuminated. The reason is that the relaxing ambience of bedroom can get disturbed if many dedicated light sources are used to illuminate the tv wall.
For instance, while watching tv during night in bedroom, If too many LED strip lights are used around tv wall then it will sure highlight the design of tv wall but at the same time would provide unwanted brightness.
Hence, the use of strip light should be very minimal.
Same is the case with using dedicated recessed lights for tv wall in bedroom. When all the lights in bedroom are turned off, the recessed lights for tv wall can create glare.
The best method therefore, to illuminate the tv wall in bedroom is to use the light sources that provides general lighting to bedroom to cast some light on the tv wall as well. This can be achieved by placing light sources close to tv wall.
And during night time the best lighting for tv wall can be achieved by sticking LED strip lights just behind the tv.
Not only does it provides relaxation to the eyes while watching tv in dark but also helps to create a theatre-like feel in bedroom.
Here, a demostration on youtube on how to install LED strip lights behind tv.
Additional tips on lighting a tv wall
Try color combination lights
By placing two table lamps of different light color on the tv wall cabinets, a fresh look can be given to tv wall.
Floor lamps can also be used to create colorful contrast of lighting on the tv wall.
To make the combination look good, the color of lights must look good when viewed together.
More detail in matching colors is explained in this post.
If tv wall has textured surface highlight the texture
If the tv wall has a textured surface then the light should always fall on the tv wall from top. The more close the light source is from the wall the better the shadows will form below the irregularities of the texture which enhances the look of texture.
Ceiling mounted spot downlights with wide beam spread (80 – 100 degrees) can be used to create the desired shadow below the texture.
How bright should lights on tv wall be ?
All the lighting combined on the tv wall should be around 500 – 600 lumens in brightness.
Lights on the tv wall are only for decoration and to provide contrast to shadows behind tv while watching tv. Hence, very bright light source is not required for lighting tv wall.
