Plan your hallway lighting carefully as it can make or break this often-overlooked space. This is the first impression your guests have of your home, so it should set the tone for the rest of the home to come. It’s best to aim for drama, not symmetry, by layering your lighting effects. Decorative pendants or lanterns can set the visual tone, but it’s the architectural effect that creates the drama.

Wall Lighting

Wall lighting ideas are a great way to add hallway lighting in tight spaces instead of table lamps. Adding architectural lighting such as spotlights to illuminate the artwork in between or flowers on a console table not only gives focus to your main body but also enhances the feel of the space.

Think uplighting

Why only use one downlight? It looks great when you light the flowers here to make sure they get the attention they deserve. However, adding a spotlight to this trash can adds drama and elegance making it the perfect entryway.

Stairway lighting

By illuminating the elements along the corridor, the eye is drawn across the space to points of interest outside. This can make the space appear longer and enhance the feeling of space. Here every third step is illuminated with a scrubber as well as the corridor floor. Further layered lighting with the use of upward light in the two windows reveals that it adds further depth and drama to this room.

Architectural Features

Consider lighting architectural features in your room, especially if you have a ceiling like this. Here we have used two layers of contour lighting to illuminate the cornice and barrel-vaulted ceiling above. It perfectly demonstrates modelling with light and shadow. The finishing touch is to add spotlights to the pillars to emphasize the moulding and guide you through the space.

Layered lighting

Layered lighting not only adds appeal but also provides practical corridor lighting. The intense red art on both sides of the hall is illuminated by low-glare high CRI downlights. This is combined with an upward layer of light that forms the door and illuminates the window. The final layer is a scrubber to accentuate the large pavement.

Double-height room

With a double-height entrance, remember to light up the artwork on a high level or at the top of the stairs to draw attention beyond the ground floor and expand your sense of space. In this image, a frame projector provides precise lighting to this bright canvas. Or, use a directional downlight with the correct beam width to focus on sculptures and other artwork.