The hallway is a busy place. Transition between the inside and the outside, this space should be able to welcome your guests in the comfort of your home, reaveling your style, tastes and personnality. And at the same time, it needs to be the perfect area for you to take off your coat, your shoes, drag your luggages and shopping bags, all this with your umbrella because, of course, it’s raining outside. For this two reasons, close attention should be paid to make this area the best combination between decoration and function. And it starts with the lighting. Each volume requests its own light setting so here are several situations explaining how you could set up light in your hallway. Pick one !
Your hallway is not a separate room.
When your hallway is your living room, it makes things easier...and more complicated at the same time. The area around the entrance will benefit from the general light of the all room, meaning having a functional lighting will not be a problem. The problem is, having no limitation between spaces, you will have this uncomfortable feeling of having no transition between the outside and your living room. No need to build a wall, just bring a light close to the entrance door.
A light on a small table or console, a floorlamp standing next to the door or, why not, a light hanging above a shelf. In any of those cases, the idea is to have some furniture, object or decoration specific to this area and the light to enhance it. It will catch the attention directly when coming in and will create a first step before looking at the all space. It doesn’t have to be big, imagine this as a small display saying « hello ».
Your hallway is a corridor.
The corridor is narrow and long, you don’t know what to do with it. You can’t put alamp on a table because you need the space when you come back from the supermarket. And at the same time, you are tired of having all your guests packed next to the door when they are coming in. Here’s the solution which will solve both your problems : a line of several lights.
By creating a succession of lights you will create an inviting way to your living room. In our perception, the light determines the limit of a space. By putting lights all the way to the end of your hallway, your guests will automatically « feel » they can go further in the space without having you leading the way. At least, the long space which appear as a waste of space will now be used completely.
By chosing lights coming from the ceiling or fixed to the walls, you will free the all space and create a good general lighting.
The ceiling of your hallway is high.
If you don’t want to feel like you are coming in a train station, hanging lamps are what you are looking for. Having a high ceiling is great, but it can give the feeling of being lost in the space and not feeling really cosy.
When coming back home, you surely need to feel you are back inside, in your « Home Sweet Home ». Hanging lamps will help you with this by bringing the ceiling back to a normal height. Or at least, it will feel like it as your eyes will reach for the lamps and not the ceiling anymore.
The size of the lights will depend of the size of your space. If your hallway is narrow, go for medium-size lamps and if it’s wider, don’t be afraid to choose a large one or smaller ones arranged in rows.
A spacious hallway.
Rare enough to be mentioned ! You have space to go around, you have enough room to put furniture and if there’s a high ceiling, it definitely means you can do whatever you want (but always with taste of course).
In this kind of case, you will first think about creating a general lighting before adding secundary lights. General lighting can be provided by spotlights, leds, hanging lamps or wall llights. Secundary lighting can be provided by a floorlamp next to a seat or by one or two lamps put on a console table. The most important thing to be careful about in a spacious hallway is to pay attention to the proportions. If you choose spotlights and only spotlights to create the lighting, the room risks to feel a bit empty, even with furniture. Adding a table lamp will make the space cosier.
For a small hallway.
All the space which can be spared should be. No floorlamp or table lamp in this situation. Even the wall light should be avoided as it will make the space looks smaller. The solution is coming from the ceiling and the ceiling only. But do not despair as you still have several possibilities to bring light here.
All lighting which can be fixed to the ceiling are good to use. The only thing you have to care about is watch for the height of the lamps, specially an hanging one of course. You don’t want to smash it every time you take off your coat. Otherwise, all spotlights, downlights, and ceiling lights are working perfectly. If you want to add some fun by using LED strips, you can use them along one of the wall to highlight a picture or an art piece you have hung there.
Some tips are also working for all the situations above :
- always choose warm light, meaning turning to the yellow-orange. It’s more welcoming.
- like already mentioned, pay attention to the heights of your ceiling lamps. Too low and you will smash them every time you put on your coat, take off your sweater or your hat.
- always prefer indirect lighting, either thanks to a shade on a lamp or by directing the spotlights correctly. You don’t want to be dazzled every time you come home.
- make sure one of the lamp is positioned to light up the place for your bag or trinket bowl (you surely have one without doubt)
Now, you’re all ready to create the dreamy hallway that your friends will never forget ! If not, give me a call and I’ll give you a hand ;)
If you want to know more about lighting, you can take a look at my Pinterest board "home lighting" and if you want to follow up on this month #TurnOntheLight and the other themes to come, you can follow me on my Facebook page or directly register to my newsletter.
See you next week !
Emilie