Looking forward to suggestions. I have the same issue.

This is where lamps can really make a difference. By using table lamps (eye level lighting) on an end table or two by the sofa this creates a warm glow. Forget the ceiling light, it is for getting into and out of the room only - not spending time in there. If you hang artwork, IKEA also has some great picture lights which will add another level. Good luck!

Yep, a bunch of lamps is the way to go. You can even get one or two of those arc floor lamps (which I love) if you're not that into table lamps. If you don't want to go around switching 5 lamps on / off every time you enter or leave a room, you can probably connect them all to one power strip near the entrance of the room, and just use that as a main switch.
I think a flood light may be a mistake, as it could create quite an uncomfortable glare.

Agree with THEDECORGIRL here. Several lamps and lights would really help, but I can't help but wonder why you have the blinds drawn? I know that it wouldn't help at night, but getting daylight in there will really help and if you're worried about privacy put some sheer window treatments up to allow light without showing the neighborhood your home.

Opening those blinds to let some natural light in would be a good first step. Keep them open as much as possible. If you don't get much natural light, keeping them open will still give you a psychological boost.

We had a notoriously dim apartment and we used table lamps rather than floor lamps. Two or three 60 watt table lamps spaced strategically will help a lot.

Just employ a icombination of floor and table lamps and mix up the wattage. Scour Craigslist for some finds (I recently found a great floor lamp for 20 bucks!). Stay away from ceiling lighting. It's not the most flattering or pretty.

More lamps! Try to get lightbulbs with a more natural cast as well. That yellow is not doing the room any favors.

Also, use LED stick on lights under the cabinets in the kitchen.

Hang a few mirrors to reflect what light you do have, and you get more bang for your buck. They're most effective when across from windows, but they can be used to reflect light from any source. A large arc lamp or two, table lamps, floor lamps, task lighting, etc. to get as much of a natural look as possible.

I have a townhouse with few windows, so I don't get a ton of natural light. Here's what I do:

I don't use overhead lighting (too harsh!), except in the kitchen, but have pairs of lamps of side tables everywhere. Add some tables with lamps - something that can accept a high wattage - to start. Tri-light fixtures paired with tri-light bulbs (three wattages) helps control the amount of light. I ditched any florescent light fixtures.

I also painted my walls a crisp white to help bounce light around. Mirrors help, too, but I thought the look was a bit common, so I DIY stenciled one for a bit of interest:

http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.ca/2012/06/poem-stenciled-on-to-antiqued-mirror.html

So, that's my two cents: tables lamps + white walls + a mirror. Good luck!!

Lamps and mirrors. Multiple moderately lit lamps will create more depth to the space than one bright lamp. It doesn't appear that you have many windows in this space and as TheModernGal above notes, mirrors do reflect light.

This may be a dumb question, but how are the windows in your apartment situated? From the picture, it looks like there are some blinds in the living room. When your windows are open, do you get much natural light?

Also - some light colored, bright or colorful art on the walls! Maybe one or two LARGE pieces -- I find this really opens up a room, makes it feel special, and helps dispel gloomy apartment feeling. In lieu of a big piece of art, my good friend painted a large swatch of apple green right ON the wall. Or, buy the biggest canvas you can afford (48x30? +) and paint it your favorite light or bright color and hang it (esp if you aren't allowed to paint the walls). I know they aren't a light fixture, though as a previous poster said with art lights from Ikea any piece could be both a happy focal point and mood lighting-- and it will do wonders for brightening up the space visually and emotionally!

This is very like the apartment that I've just moved to. The ceiling features bare energy-saver bulbs that make the place look like a forensic lab.

I have two lamps that are woven natural-coloured rattan spheres, which cast a gorgeous lacy pattern on the wall; they sit on either ends of the bookshelf against the main wall. I also have a large floor lamp in the other half of the room, which has two shaded bulbs that can be swivelled and pointed in different directions.

These 3 are all attached to one power-adaptor strip. The ceiling lights are never used; the lamps are so much softer and more pleasant, and create visual interest.

I like that a few people suggested opening up the blinds when it's obviously dark outside in this picture.

I'm on Team More Lamps + Mirrors. Also, make sure your bulbs are nice and bright and have more of a white light than an orange light. A ceiling fan would definitely help.

@Teacups - People aren't being obtuse. The poster took the photo when it was convenient and asked for better ways of getting more light. He didn't specify it was during the night and for that matter, it doesn't matter whether it's night or day; opening the blinds is the most obvious way of getting more light. This, along with the many suggestions, answered his question.

that ikea lamp is the key to souping up your dim apartment. I had the same lamp and used it as my sole light source in my room.

Since it's fully shaded, you can crank up the wattage in that baby without hurting your eyes. And with all white walls, the light will radiate well off the walls and ceiling to fill the room like a halogen would.

Get yourself a 150 watt bulb. Or if you want to be green, do what i did and get a compact fluorescent bulb rated at 2,600 lumens or higher.

The compact fluorescent (CFL) equivalent of 150 watt incandescent bulb only uses about 30-50 watts, so you can get tons of light without tapping mother earth dry. If you want true-color for your artwork, go with a "cooler" color temperature like daylight or cool white. Otherwise, I'd recommend a warmer temperature to give the light a cozier feel, like soft white.

This may not be the most elegant solution, but it's cost-effective and does a surprisingly good job. That ikea lamp is underrated.

I think an overhead light would be a good idea. Maybe a nice chandelier type fixture. Also, I like the mirrors idea

You can buy an LED spot for the can light in the ceiling. (My Library got these for a meeting room recently. We needed to get extenders to put the wide part of the "bulb" as low as possible, but the room is much brighter and cooler now. Not cheap, but you can always take it with you when you move on, the things are supposed to last forever!)

We placed an IKEA swag lamp over our breakfast nook, using a hook and plastic screw anchor in the ceiling over the light and another at the wall. Minimal damage, easily patched, light from the ceiling where we needed it. (We also ran self adhesive cord covers along the window frame to the outlet. If the window frame hadn't been there -- it's white and matches the cord cover -- I would have painted the cord cover the color of the wall.)

Table lamps or floor lamps where furnishings call for them -- next to chairs, etc.

You mention installing a ceiling fan -- does this mean you own rather than rent? If so, a permanent ceiling light (NOT florescent) might be nice. I'd think seriously about a ceiling fan, though. If you don't actively NEED the air being moved around, usually ceiling fans don't add much to the ambiance of living rooms. (I have them in the bedrooms for comfort sleeping, but not the living room.) Your ceilings seem high enough to support a nice fixture.

Use daylight balanced bulbs! They are a little more expensive (and they all need to be the same or the light will look funky) - but they make a room feel lighter and all the whites look whiter. Also, try a common photography lighting trick - get some lamps that point toward the ceiling - which will bounce the light wide on the ceiling then all over and make it seem more ambient, and less like you have spotlights here and there.

Can you paint the walls? If so, I'd suggest a bright, happy color (say, a pale turquoise) against which crisp white accents will really 'pop' and reflect more light throughout the room. Get some white pillows for that couch, add white drapes to the window, add a bright little accent rug to bring more light colors against that floor. That, more lighting and mirrors, will really brighten the way the place looks and reflects light.

You need three types of light: ambient, spot, and sparkle. Ambient and Spot are covered pretty well above.

Sparkle gives the eye a sense of bright light without glare:
- speckles of light from Charlie26's woven natural-coloured rattan spheres and similar light fixtures;
- mirrors and shiny surfaces, such as a glass cover on tables or a set of gleaming coasters;
- a glittery glass, metal or metallic-paper mobile in a dark corner, lit by an up-light
- cut glass and crystal in vases, lamp bases, chandeliers or just one crystal hanging in the window that gets sun.
- cushions or throws with a bit of metallic thread or silky covers

Ahh - not all of these at once! Just a few to suggest being under a tree with spangles of light dusting the grass below.

Finally, avoid using only matte surfaces. No amount of 150W ambient light or spots of light in the corners will compensate for lack of reflection.

Yes you need more lamp so that you can see your living room is but a couch, tv set and lamps. Good luck with making it more inviting.

Get 3 lamps (you can even use crappy work lamps), place them behind the couch, and direct the light up the wall. They often do this at weddings but with colored lights. This provides a larger area for the light to bounce off of, and therefore you will get more light in the room. Tada!

I'm having the same problem in my small living room! I have a floor lamp I made from an old tripod, but since the space is so small, I don't have room for any end tables to put lamps on or any floor space for floor lamps. I was thinking about finding a swag light that I can plug into an outlet on the floor, but I haven't had any luck finding any that are reasonably priced. Any suggestions would be great!

If you can find them, uplights. Target used to carry them. I use them behind the TV, have one in the kitchen (have the long fluorescent bulbs in my kitchen too, dislike them for all but prepping food) and since they shoot the light upward, the light casts off the ceiling.

I also use lamps up high to get more light. I have one lamp on the top of one of my shelves above my computer desk (it's 5' tall). When I am not working (on Facebook, responding to emails, etc), I like to have some kind of light that is above me but isn't dramatic. I have limited space on the floor and with a rambunctious young cat, floor lamps are not a good idea. Anyhow, lighting up high and uplights are my resolve to my dark apartment.

at's guideline is three sources of light per room. you should combine table/desk lamps and floor lamps for this. the floor lamps for the whole room and the smaller ones for task lighting. forget the overheads exist. if your kitchen is small enough, i like the undercabinet option someone mentions above. who needs overheads unless they're cleaning or seriously cooking?

oh, i use 3-way lamps. the floors are 50-100-150 and the table lamps are 30-70-100. they make CFL bulbs for both and you can control the amount of light much better with them.

I agree with others that a flood light might not be the right way to go. I like the idea of more lamps, especially tucked into gloomy corners. One of the best things I did in my living room was put tall, sculptural, paper floor lamps on either side of the sofa - their size and shape give the room some drama and also physically bigger light, and they were under $20 each at Ikea (I have a rambuntious cat - any lamp he can reach must be cheap!). Also, I tucked a lot of weird, funky little lights into nooks and crannies....including filling a glass head with mini white Christmas lights (LED so it doesn't get too hot).

Also, white is brilliant at reflecting light and making a place feel brighter - it doesn't have to be on the walls; white furniture or even lamp bases/shades have similar impact. Dark colours will soak up the light and seem to take up more of the light space. And light tints as well. I enjoy own pale bluey-greeny walls, and a few pieces of white furniture mixed in with the rest, for the brightness effect. And mirrors. And if you make any furniture purchases - the more you can see the light through them, the brighter your place will feel. I'm a fan of leggy furniture and furniture with open backs for this reason. Also, clear glass anything - anything you can see through, or that reflects light. I also believe plants always make a place feel brighter, by virtue of being things we associate with the outdoors (sun! sky!).

I think a cool trick is to "fake" a window - a wall-mounted wooden frame with a light (or a string of mini lights) behind it, and then something translucent (but not transparent) in front. Maybe curtains or mini blinds to match the ones you have, or translucent glass or even core-plast. Saw this actually done on a grand scale in a local casino - I guess designed to trick gamblers into thinking daylight still lurks behind those "windows" - with timber frames, full sheets of core-plast, and plain old outdoor rope lighting! Cheap and clever, dramatic impact, psychologically successful ploy, lol.

@lizinco - just read your comment about YOUR rambunctious cat, lol. I know how you feel! :)

Hey Everybody! Wow! Thank you for all the comments. Yes, I am the person who wrote in! Just moved to Denver a month ago and my journey has been so truly amazing!

I took this picture at night so that's why the curtains are drawn. I will be getting window fixtures soon. After moving 800 miles, I am a little short on cash but that's why I have a job and a passion in photography. JKCITY pointed out something I should've seen... photographer's trick of pointing the lights so thank you and I will keep that in mind!

After I get this place cleaned up some more, I'll be doing a full shoot of the place and posting a flickr link to see what you guys think! Thanks again for all the help! I am on my way to some good ideas!

More lamps, more lamps, more lamps!

Do you know which Ikea floorlamp that is? There are a few on their website that look just like it. I could really use something like it..

CB2 makes a great pendant lamp that plugs into an outlet - http://www.cb2.com/eden-white-pendant-lamp/s616641. It's simple but good quality, and gives a nice, diffused light.