Just a thought: how about a crown moulding that hide a rope light to provide an indirect light all around the room?

We were really thinking about the crown molding idea for a while! I love how it unique it can be. The semi flush lamp was also a smart suggestion for brightening up that ceiling - thank you everyone!

HI

I would add a ceiling mounted light, recessed lights and also wall sconces !

KHB Interiors offers the best combination of solutions but if those aren't an option for you then look at floor lamps that give off more light than your current one and put it in the corner. Is there room to put a small table between the sofa end and door? If so, then you could add a table with a table lamp there, too. If not look for a floor lamp with a single shade for that spot. This floor lamp is more overhead and should give you more of a down light over the seating than being directed at the walls or above your head when seated.

No matter what lighting you put in the room the paint choices will keep it darker than it should be. First I would paint the room a warm creamy / white color and paint everything one color
For a fixture one of those ' sputnick' type chandeliers in the center .

How about sconces or a floor lamp? Perhaps even both. Check our photo below from our designs.

Hidden lights in crown molding for sure! If it's not enough light, you can always add sconces.

Move from the dark, dated, and overly crowded look, and the space will not need as much lighting. The wall "boxes" are greatly contributing to the dark and dated look. Those should be the first to go. The too large sectional should follow close behind.

Your walls do not complement your contemporary sectional that is too large for the room. I would remove the mouldings and begin by painting the walls white.

Taller floor lamps that 'overhang'

If sconces and a ceiling light can not be added -

Sofa is way too large for the space.....look how the curtains are crushed. : ( That is just wrong. Can you remove one of the smaller sections? The curtains should be hung from a rod that's about 5 inches from the ceiling. Just because the window is low doesn't mean you can't raise the bar and give the room height.

The paint job is far too busy. I'm not a fan of the picture frame molding but it is way too pronounced with the different colors. All one pale color--don't even highlight the frames on the picture molding. A lighter version of the sofa for the walls. Not any yellow in the color. Maybe Urban Putty by Sherwin Williams.

Here a pic of picture frame molding that has been painted the same as the walls. They are still there but don't demand your attention.

The room might be better with no curtains. You should take those down to get a better feel for the room.

Is this the only room that could be used as a living room?

Can you change sofas?

Since you don't have room for a table of any kind you could use two torchiere lights one in each corner. This is from Target and has up and down lights.

Here's a better picture of painted picture frame molding. Cleaner, lighter and brighter.

Id do lighting over the pictures. Sconces. :)

This is how I made my living room brighter. I combine this with floor lamp. If you don't want to change color on walls and furniture it could be good with this as it is and it would be a lot brighter. Change of curtains is a good solution in combination with something like this. I think the curtains need to be lighter color. It's great idea to put mirror on the wall where is the picture now, because the mirror reflects the light. And it would be good to put some light across the mirror so it has even more light to reflect. I hope this helps you, and I'm sorry for bad picture.

gustaruygers, Beverly, and leelee have it right. You really need to repaint, and remove a piece of the sectional, if possible.

At the very least, the curtains need to be hung AT LEAST as high as the top of the molding.

I browsed your ideabooks and see that you've saved a bunch of over-the-top classical traditional rooms like this...

You are not going to achieve this look in that space and you will frustrate yourself if you try. You can achieve a cozy, comfortable room here, but you're better off saving the look in this photo for a much grander space.

There's also the fact that the colour breaks to contrasting yellow right in the middle of the rather casual door. Agree with all above, paint out to one solid colour, and continue that colour over to the adjacent room too.

Rather than adding crown and electrical, spend that money on furniture that is appropriately sized for the space.