Wall lights in the hall: height and spacing

A hallway is narrow, often has no daylight and is the first room a visitor sees. Yet there is usually one ceiling lamp that makes everything flat and cold. With a few wall lights along the wall the opposite happens: depth appears, and a passage becomes a room.

Hang them at about 150 cm

Measure to the centre of the lamp, so roughly eye level. Slightly lower, around 140 cm, is fine if the ceiling is low. Above 170 cm the light goes over your head and you lose the effect.

Keep 150 to 200 cm between them

With several lamps along a long wall, the spacing matters more than the number. Too close together and they become a row of little lights; too far apart and they become separate islands with dark gaps in between. One and a half to two metres gives rhythm.

Do not start or end right in the corner: keep at least 60 cm from the corner of the wall.

In a hallway, projection is the most important measurement

In a hallway 90 to 110 cm wide you pass by every day, often with a coat or a bag. A lamp that sticks out 15 cm will get knocked. Our slimmest models project 4 to 8 cm from the wall and stay out of the walking line. That measurement is listed for every wall light.

Void or open stairwell

If you have a void, different rules apply. There the lamp does not hang on the wall but freely in the space, and it is about length: the fitting can run over several floors. On the ground floor keep at least 220 cm of clear headroom under the lowest point, and look at how the lamp appears from above: from the landing you literally look down on it.

Think about switching

In a hallway you want to control the light from both ends. Have a two-way switch installed for that, or choose fittings with their own switch. A motion sensor is also an option, but does not dim. In a hall that opens onto the living room, that feels restless in the evening.

View all lighting for the hall and corridor

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