Hallway, Entryway and Staircase Lighting Ideas

Which fixture suits a hallway, entry or staircase?

Start with the space and its ceiling height, then pick the fixture. A standard 8-foot ceiling leaves only 12 inches of drop before a fixture breaks the 7-foot clearance designers keep over walkways, so low profiles win in most hallways.

A ceiling row plus a few sconces usually works best: ceiling lights for general light, sconces for the walls. Compare both types in our hallway and entryway lighting.

How far apart should hallway lights be?

Space hallway fixtures about 6 to 8 feet apart, center to center. Farther than 8 feet tends to leave darker patches between pools of light, especially with downlights or small shades. To place them, use this calculation, which works for ceiling lights and sconces alike:

1. Count divide the hall length by 8 feet and round up. That is the number of fixtures.
2. Spacing divide the hall length by that number. That is the distance between fixtures.
3. First fixture place it at half the spacing from the end wall, so the ends of the hall get as much light as the middle.

Then adjust for doors: shift a fixture by a foot rather than put it where an open door will hide it. Very small fixtures are the exception to the 6 to 8 foot rule: the mini opal globe semi-flush mount, with a 4.7-inch globe and a height of 5.9 inches, is meant to be spaced 47 to 59 inches apart in a hallway, so the row reads as one continuous line of light. Under an 8-foot ceiling, its 5.9-inch height still leaves about 90 inches of clearance.

Ceiling lights or wall sconces for a narrow hallway?

Both work; width and ceiling height decide. Many hallways are only 3 to 4 feet wide, so anything that sticks out or hangs low gets in the way of shoulders and heads.

• Ceiling lights under an 8-foot (96-inch) ceiling, keep the fixture no taller than 12 inches so its lowest point stays at 84 inches or above. A 9-foot ceiling allows about 24 inches, a 10-foot ceiling about 36.
• Wall sconces they leave the ceiling clear and light the walls, which makes a narrow hall look wider. Accessibility rules for public buildings limit wall-mounted objects at walking height to 4 inches of projection; homes are not bound by that rule, but it is a sensible target.

A flat plate is a practical sconce shape for a tight hall. The slim aluminum up-down wall sconce is 2.8 inches wide, comes in two heights (about 8 or 16.1 inches) and sends integrated LED light up and down through an acrylic diffuser, in black, white, gold or coffee. Its warm white version is listed at 2700K to 3500K. It is not dimmable, so put another light on a dimmer if you want a low night setting.

Whichever you choose, light the walls and not only the floor. Pale paint reflects more light back into the space, and a lit picture or mirror at the far end gives the eye a destination and makes a short hall feel longer.

What size light fixture for an entryway?

Use the same rule designers use for chandeliers: add the length and width of the entry in feet, and use the total as the fixture's diameter in inches. Treat the result as a starting point, since an open, airy design can go a little larger and a dense one a little smaller.

Then check the height. Wherever people walk underneath, keep the bottom of the fixture at least 7 feet above the floor; in a busy foyer, 7.5 to 8 feet feels more comfortable. In a two-story foyer, hang a chandelier roughly at the level of the second-floor landing so it can be seen from upstairs. The chandelier height and size guide covers fixture height and tall ceilings in more detail.

The overhead light is only half the job. Where people drop keys and check a mirror, a sconce on each side of the mirror, centered 60 to 66 inches from the floor, lights faces from the front and avoids the shadows a ceiling fixture casts under the eyes. The room-by-room numbers are in our guide on how high to mount wall sconces. With no wiring at the wall, a table lamp on a console does the same job.

Light every stair tread and switch at both ends

Stairs need light on every tread and landing, with the edge of each step clearly visible and no fixture shining straight into the eyes of someone going down. Residential building codes generally require a way to light interior stairs, and where a stair has six or more risers they generally call for a switch at each floor level. A licensed electrician will know the rules your town has adopted.

• Sconces on the stair wall mount them at a consistent height above the stair nosing (the front edge of each tread), about 60 to 66 inches measured straight up, so the line of fixtures follows the slope of the stair.
• Spacing along the slope, the same 6 to 8 feet works, with one fixture at or near each landing.
• Light from the side light from a side wall crosses the treads, so your shadow falls beside you rather than on the next step. A single light at the top, behind someone walking down, throws their shadow onto the steps ahead.
• Tall stairwells a pendant or chandelier can hang in the open space, if it can be serviced without leaning over a railing.

On a landing, a motion sensor ceiling light helps at night. The radar motion sensor flush mount ceiling light is 0.9 inch thick, detects movement over 180 degrees, and lets you set its range (up to 315 inches) and delay (15 to 90 seconds); for a hallway or stairway, its product page suggests 157 to 236 inches and 30 to 60 seconds. It comes in 7.1, 9.1 and 11.8 inch diameters, with the color set to 2800K, 4000K or 5000K.

Which bulb color and brightness for a hallway?

Warm white, 2700K to 3000K, feels welcoming in an entry and hallway and matches the rooms around it. ENERGY STAR's bulb purchasing guide describes warm and soft white as the standard color of incandescent bulbs, and cool and neutral white (3500K to 4100K) as good for kitchens and work spaces. Keep one color along the whole passage: the Department of Energy's guide to purchasing energy-efficient light bulbs notes that a jump from 2,700K to 4,100K is noticeable, and in a long corridor it shows at a glance.

With integrated LED fixtures, the color is chosen when you order or set on the unit, so pick the same value for every fixture you can see at once. For brightness, think in lumens: ENERGY STAR equates a 40-watt incandescent bulb with at least 450 lumens and a 60-watt bulb with 800. In a 3- to 4-foot-wide hall with a fixture every 6 to 8 feet, 450 to 800 lumens per fixture is a sensible starting range, at the top end on stairs and with dark walls.

A dimmer or a motion sensor avoids full brightness at 2 a.m. With a dimmer, use bulbs marked "Dimmable"; with a sensor or timer, check with its maker that it works with energy-efficient bulbs, as the ENERGY STAR guide advises.

Avoid these hallway and entryway lighting mistakes

• One light in the middle it leaves both ends of the hall dark.
• Fixtures too big or too low anything below 7 feet in a walkway gets hit.
• Mixed color temperatures a cool bulb next to a warm one is obvious in a corridor.
• A single switch a hall with a door at each end, or a stair, needs a switch at each end (three-way switching).
• Glare on the stairs a bare bulb at eye level halfway up a flight dazzles anyone coming down.

How to plan and install hallway lights safely

1. Measure length, width and ceiling height, then run the spacing calculation.
2. Mark doors keep fixtures out of door swings.
3. Check boxes and switches new positions, extra boxes or three-way switches mean new wiring.
4. Tape templates tape paper outlines in place and look at them from both ends of the hall.

Before touching any fixture, switch off the circuit at the breaker and confirm the power is off. Adding boxes, moving fixtures or wiring three-way switches is a job for a licensed electrician; the NFPA's electrical safety tip sheet advises having all electrical work done by a qualified electrician. Ladder work over a stairwell adds a fall risk too. Our guide on how to replace a light fixture safely explains what a straightforward swap involves.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best lighting for a narrow hallway?

For most narrow hallways, a row of flush mount ceiling lights or slim wall sconces works best, spaced about 6 to 8 feet apart. Keep ceiling fixtures at least 7 feet above the floor and choose sconces with a shallow projection so they do not catch shoulders. Up-down sconces and pale walls make the space feel wider, and warm white bulbs at 2700K to 3000K keep it welcoming.

How many lights does a hallway need?

Divide the hall length by 8 feet and round up. A 12-foot hall takes two fixtures, 6 feet apart and 3 feet from each end, while a 20-foot hall takes three, about 6 feet 8 inches apart. Very small fixtures, such as mini globes, need closer spacing, and a hall with a door at each end is easier to use with a switch at both ends.

How high should an entryway light hang?

Keep the bottom of a ceiling fixture at least 7 feet above the floor wherever people walk, and 7.5 to 8 feet in a busy foyer. Under a standard 8-foot ceiling, that limits the fixture to about 12 inches tall. In a two-story foyer, hang a chandelier near the level of the second-floor landing so it looks right from both floors.

Should hallway lights be warm white or cool white?

Warm white, 2700K to 3000K, suits most hallways and entries because it matches the light in living rooms and bedrooms and feels calm at night. Cool or neutral white, 3500K to 4100K, is better kept for kitchens and work spaces. Whatever you choose, use the same color temperature for every fixture along the passage, since mismatched light is easy to spot.

Do stair lights need a switch at the top and bottom?

In most homes, yes. Residential codes generally call for a switch at each floor level when an interior stair has six or more risers, so nobody has to climb or descend in the dark. That usually means three-way switches, or four-way switches for a third location. Wiring them is a job for a licensed electrician, who will follow the code your town has adopted.

For stairs and landings, compare narrow designs in our staircase wall sconces. For a tight hallway, the slim aluminum up-down wall sconce and the mini opal globe semi-flush mount are two easy places to start.