Choosing the Right Wall Lights
Bridging the gap between practicality and finesse, wall lights can be purchased in a diverse range of styles, sizes, and in many different materials from brass to crystal.
Wall lights can be used to perform a variety of functions, from providing necessary illumination for safety purposes, acting as a decorative focal point or to create general, ambient lighting. Wall Lights can also be used in outdoor areas for your garden.
Choosing the right wall lights, however, can be a difficult task. Below, we cover some key questions surrounding wall lighting, giving you all of the necessary information to make the right choice for you.
What’s the Purpose of Wall Lights?
Many people associate wall lights with small, ornamental sconces that add little value or illumination to a room – which leaves them wondering, ‘why do I need wall lights?’
Wall lights certainly have their place as decorative features, but they can offer much more than just that. They can serve a range of functions, from acting as reading lamps for the bedroom to providing proper task and ambient lighting in the kitchen.
Not only that, but any properly-layered lighting scheme should include some form of wall light fixture. They add both flair and function to a room, providing more depth than overhead lighting sources can on their own.
Where Can You Incorporate Wall Lights?
Whether indoors or outside, wall lights can be used in just about any room. Where you place them depends largely upon why you want to add them.
Working alongside ambient lighting sources, like ceiling lights, wall lights, which work to provide supplemental illumination. They complement other fixtures by adding an extra layer of soft, subtle and less-intrusive light.
If you’re looking to reduce glare from bright overhead fixtures, wall lights can even be used in place of ambient lighting sources to create a softer, more atmospheric feel. They can also be added either side of bathroom mirrors as bathroom wall lights, providing an even spread of light across the face to facilitate tasks like shaving and applying makeup.
In offices and craft rooms, swing-arm fixtures can also be mounted onto walls. These can serve as practical and stylish alternatives to traditional table lamps, maximizing space by being positioned on the wall rather than taking up room on the desk.
Niches and alcoves can also benefit from wall lights by illuminating areas that overhead fixtures fail to reach, whilst outdoor lights can be used to add security, safety and decoration.
What Types of Wall Lights Can You Buy?
Choosing the right type of wall light for you can seem tricky at first, but it doesn’t need to be. By familiarising yourself with the styles available on the market, you’ll find it easy to make an informed decision.
Some of the most popular wall light options available on the market include:
- Wall-washing uplights, which cover or ‘wash’ walls with a soft and evenly-spread glow
- Downlights used either to accentuate walls or illuminate the ground for functional purposes
- Bathroom vanity lights to provide glare-free task or mood lighting
- Picture lights used to draw attention to pieces of artwork and other design features
- Bedside lights to provide soft illumination for reading and other tasks
While few wall lights can provide adequate illumination to serve as ambient lights on their own, alongside other fixtures they can provide softer and more ambient lighting whilst adding extra layers and depth to your lighting scheme.
How Should I Position My Fixtures?
In order to maximize the illumination your wall lights provide, correct placement is critical. If you place your lights inappropriately, you’ll be left with dimly-lit areas that’ll only compromise the overall aesthetic of the rest of the room.
As a general room of thumb, placing wall lights at around eye-level (5.5 to 6 feet off the ground) is a good place to start – although be mindful that the height of your ceilings should also be taken into account.
You should never come eye-to-eye with an exposed light bulb, though, so ensure that any eye-level bulbs are covered over with shading – unless your lighting scheme purposefully features bare bulbs.
How many wall lights you choose to implement depends largely upon what kind of decorative look you’re trying to achieve and how much lighting you require – just be sure not to overdo it. Wall lights are often used in abundance in hallways, working to light dim corridors. (Too many, however, can be overly-bright and unattractive – aim for one fixture every 8 to 10 feet.)
Lastly, consider how far away from the wall your fixture will protrude. Smaller rooms will benefit more from fixtures that are flush to walls as these take up considerably less space.
How Do I Harmonize Wall Lights With the Rest of My Design?
The first step toward successfully integrating wall lights into your decor is to consider what their purpose is. The positioning of a living room reading light, for instance, will depend primarily upon where in the room you plan to read.
Next, you should decide whether the purpose of your chosen light is more for decoration or function. This will determine whether your light is used more as a background source of illumination or as a focal point.
There is no right and wrong when it comes to effectively coordinating wall lights with other fixtures. Mix and match different styles to find the arrangements that best suit your preferences.
Author Profile
- Adam is an in-house technical writer for Scotlight Direct, a website dedicated to providing the latest and most accurate information on lighting topics. With a passion for writing and a deep understanding of various lighting concepts and designs. Adam has been a valuable asset to the team since joining in 2019.
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