Looking for expert advice about wall lights? Here’s Pooky’s guide to where and how to place these versatile beauties...
Wall lights are a stylish and flexible addition to your lighting scheme. As well as providing beautiful ambient and accent lighting, they can also provide great practical task lighting. And of course they can make a striking design statement in their own right. In this expert guide we look at the most common types of wall light and how to position them, together with some tips for choosing the right wall lights for your space. But first, a common question...
When positioning your wall lights, the ideal height and spacing will depend on a number of things, including the size and style of the wall light fitting, the proportions of the room and the kind of look you’re wanting to create.
As a general rule of thumb, wall lights should be positioned around 152-170cm (around 5-5.5ft) above floor level, while multiple wall lights should be placed around 250-300cm (or 8-10ft) apart. You should aim for the top of the wall light to sit at eye level, to avoid glare from the exposed bulb.
However, this is only a general guide - if the room has particularly high ceilings (say more than 10ft), or if you’re hanging wall lights in a bathroom or bedroom, you may want to adjust these heights accordingly.
For example, wall lights are perfect for illuminating a bathroom mirror. For a flattering, even and glare-free light, try placing two wall sconces either side of the mirror, with the centres sitting slightly lower, at around eye level. (We have a range of beautiful IP44 rated wall lights which are perfect for using around the wash basin.)
Meanwhile, if you’re using wall lights above the bed, place the lights around shoulder height, so that you can turn them on and off easily from the bed.
Dining room at The Pheasant Inn by Octavia Dickinson, complete with Pooky's Double Chukka wall lights. Photo: Helen Cathcart
Wall lights come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can serve a range of different purposes, including supplementing the main light in a living room, adding additional ambience to darker corners, or as an attractive alternative where a main ceiling light is not feasible.
Wall lights also play an important role in layering lighting in a room. They’re a great source of ambient lighting, and are ideal for providing softer accent lighting for relaxing or entertaining in the evening, and creating depth and atmosphere. They can also be used to highlight a favourite feature, such as a fireplace or a work of art, adding focus and drama.
Uplights - as the name suggests - are designed to cast light upwards along the wall and towards the ceiling, which can help to give a more open feel to a living room or hallway. Meanwhile, downlights send the majority of the light downwards, making for a more cozy and relaxing atmosphere in a larger living space.
A wall sconce is a very old type of decorative light fitting, mounted to a wall and traditionally associated with candles and oil lamps. Sconces are a fabulous way of bringing a sense of warmth and intimacy to a bathroom, a bedroom or for lighting a hallway or corridor,
Wall sconces come in a variety of styles, from traditional candle sconces, to lantern sconces, which add a more rustic ambience, modern flush-mounted sconces which sit flush against the wall and diffuse light across it, and vertical torchiere style lights which can add an extra decorative.
Browse all the different types of wall sconce here.
Articulated and swing arm wall lights have a concertina arm which can be pulled outwards, away from the wall. The beauty of an articulated light is you can direct the light exactly where you want it, making it perfect for an office or reading area - while also freeing up space on your desk or table. And they look fabulous, too.
Browse Pooky's articulated wall lights here.
Wall lights can make excellent reading lights, whether over the bed or in a cosy corner of the living room. Some wall lights are specifically designed as bedside reading lights, but conventional wall lights can also be a great alternative to a bedside lamp, and some are adjustable for added flexibility. In the living room, try placing a stylish swing arm light above a favourite sofa or chair.
See Pooky's range of specialist bedside reading lights here.
If you want to showcase a picture or a piece of art - or even create a stylish gallery - these long, narrow wall lights are specially designed for the purpose. A picture light - or a series of picture lights - suspended artistically above your chosen pieces will provide the perfect backdrop. (You can find out more about using picture lights to illuminate your paintings and artworks here.) Meanwhile, for targeted task lighting, such as over a table or a kitchen island, try choosing a set of wall lights with more of a spotlighting effect.
See all Pooky's picture lights here.
Wall lights come in a wide range of different styles, from traditional decorative designs to slick contemporary and uber modern industrial style affairs, and in a variety of materials and finishes, from glass and brass to metal, fabric and ceramic.
When choosing your wall lights, as well as their function it’s also important to think about the kind of effect you're trying to acheive.
Here are some tips...
Image: Susie Atkinson
In the bedroom, wall lights provide a softer, more gentle alternative to the main ceiling light and they can also be a lovely design feature. A general wall light will give a warm ambient glow, while an extendable or swing arm wall light is an excellent substitute for a bedside lamp. For extra ambience, add in a dimmer to create just the right level of illumination. You can view a range of beautiful bedroom wall lights here. See more tips for choosing the perfect designer wall lights here
Browse through Pooky's vast range of sensational wall lights here.
See also:
Outdoor wall lights: 6 tips for bringing style and atmosphere to your garden space
Picture lights - how to illuminate your paintings and artworks
Stylish reading lights - a guide for bookworms and interior design lovers
Live in a rental but want a light future that’s meant to be hardwired? No problem. Live in a home where you thought you could use a plug-in light, but there are no outlets around? No problem either!
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Today, I am showing you how you can install the wall light of your DREAMS without needing an outlet nearby OR the ability to hardwire! You heard me, a wall light without electricity! *shocks*
The key to this DIY is using battery-operated PUCK lights instead of bulbs or battery-operated bulbs. I repeat- do NOT use a battery-operated bulb for this! LED bulbs will only last 3 hours on battery versus puck lights which can last a good 2-3 months.
So, I ended up choosing a sconce that I had to take apart to be able to fit the pucks in. I’m sure you can find larger lamps that don’t require this, however, I loved these lights and knew I had to have them!
The DOWNSIDE of this tutorial (there are always downsides to hacking the system LOL!) is that once the batteries die, I will need to unscrew the lamp to replace the batteries in the puck and reassemble the lamp. I do think this is a fair trade-off for having killer lights in your home with NO electricity required!
1. IF you need to, disassemble your shade so the puck lights are able to fit inside.
2. Make sure there are batteries in your puck lights (most don’t come with batteries)
3. Place the puck light inside of your shade. If you have a shade that’s not round, you can use a 3M strip to attach the puck to where the bulb socket is.
I had to screw the lamp onto the base after placing the puck inside.
4. Assemble the light based on the instructions the manufacturer was given to you. NOTHING changes about the way you mount your light except for the fact it doesn’t need to be plugged in or hardwired!
My light required me to use anchors in the wall, which wasn’t a problem since they were small. This entire process to about 30 minutes and I think the end result looks amazing! It truly looks like it was hard-wired into the wall. All you need to do is use the remote to turn the light on and off. Brilliant, if I do say so myself!!
The puck lights I bought are dimmable and are sooo bright (fancy!). I will link all the products I used below 🙂
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Will you be trying this out in your own home? Let me know down below!