Tips & Techniques

HALLWAY LIGHTING IDEAS

Hallway

Plan your hallway lighting carefully as it can make or break this space which is often neglected. It is your guest’s first impression of your home, so it should set the tone for the rest of the house to come. It is best to aim for drama not symmetry by layering your lighting effects. A decorative pendant or lantern may set the visual tone but it is the architectural effects that will create the drama.

1. WALL LIGHTS IN A NARROW HALLWAY

Wall lighting ideas are a great way of adding hallway lighting in narrow spaces instead of table lamps. The addition of architectural lighting such as downlights to light the artwork in between or flowers on the console table not only provide a focus on your key pieces but also increase the feeling of space

narrow townhouse hallway with wall lights and downlight to art
2. THINK ABOUT UPLIGHTING

Why just use downlight?  It looks great when lighting the flowers here ensuring they receive the attention they deserve.  However the addition of uplight to these shutter boxes adds drama and elegance making it the perfect entrance. Either the Lucca 30 or Lucca 40 are great to achieve this excellent example of great hallway lights.

uplighting in hall to shutter boxes
3. LIGHT YOUR STAIRCASE

By lighting features down your hall your eye is drawn through the space to the points of interest beyond.  This can make the space feel longer and enhance the feeling of space. Here every third tread is lit with a Cazalla floor washer as well as the floor of the hall.  Lighting is further layered with the use of Lucca 30 uplights in the two window reveals adding additional depth and drama in this hall.

Read more staircase lighting ideas.

view of hall into stairs with lighting to stair treads
4. CONSIDER YOUR ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

Consider lighting your architectural features in your hall especially if you have a ceiling as beautiful as this one.  Here we used two layers of Contour HD24 to uplight both the cornice and the barrel vaulted ceiling above. This shows off the modelling perfectly with light and shade. The finishing touch is the Lucca uplights to the pillars to emphasise the moulding and guide you through the space.

heritage hall with lighting to architectural features
5. LAYER YOUR LIGHTING

Layered lighting not only adds interest but also provides practical hallway lights. The strong red art either side to the hall is lit with low glare high CRI Polespring downlights. This has been combined with a layer of  uplight with Lucca 30s shaping the door and uplighting the window reveals.  The final layer is the Cazalla floorwashers to highlight the great flooring.

a hall with red art and a layered lighting scheme
6. CREATE A FOCAL POINT

Another great entrance hall lighting technique is to create focal point drawing your eye through the space. This creates a more spacious feel. We have achieved this here by lighting the courtyard beyond using a Contour LED strip. The doorways throughout this hall are uplight with Lucca 30 uplights again drawing your eye around the space and up the stairs. The underside of every tread is also lit with Contour HD27 LED strip.  Not only does this light the stair tread beneath but also casts wonderful patterns down the wall.

hall with underlit stairs and uplit courtyard beyond
7. LOVE OF LINEAR LIGHTING

Another great entrance hall lighting technique is linear lighting. It has a more contemporary feel and creates a strong look.  Here we have created a frame around the entrance using Contour LED strip concealed in a profile. The art is also lit using Polespring 40s so they stand out at night.

moody hall lighting with concealed linear lighting around the door frame and lighting to art