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Interior wall lights are a crucial part of a layered lighting scheme in your home. Whether you want to enhance your bedroom with modern illumination or bring in some contemporary kitchen wall lights, this article is a good place to start.
What Are Interior Wall Lamps?
Indoor wall sconces are light fixtures that attach to the walls of your home. These lights have the benefit of being positioned on just about any wall and at any height you prefer.
With wall lights, you can easily get rid of any shadows in your home that ambient and accent lighting does not reach. Indoor wall lamps can be used purely as decoration, or they can be used for task or accent lighting, such as with indoor up and down lights.
What to Consider When Choosing Interior Sconce Lights
Much like other types of lighting, wall lights come in a variety of styles. The type that you take home will ultimately come down to preference, but there are a few general tips to keep in mind as you select yours.
- STYLE – The style of the contemporary light fixture is sure to be the first thing you notice about a light. This means it will be the first thing others notice, too. Use your new wall lights to make a bold statement in your space or even to create a focal point.
- MATERIAL – Modern indoor wall lights come in a variety of materials, sometimes with more than one in each fixture. Choose the material that best suits the decor of the rest of the room to effortlessly incorporate it into the space.
- FINISH – The finish of the internal wall lights you choose matters. For instance, if you have a moody room, you may want to stick with black indoor wall lights. An industrial modern or urban-inspired space may better benefit from metallic finishes instead.
- HARDWIRED OR SWITCH-ACTIVATED – Some LED wall lights have their own on and off buttons on them. With these, you’ll need to walk up to the light to switch it on and off like you would a traditional lamp. Others can be hardwired into the rest of your power supply and then controlled with a light switch.
- LIGHTING EFFECT – Some wall lights do far more than just illuminate. Up and down lighters and other similar wall washing fixtures shine light back onto the wall itself, creating a soft, warm and indirect glow. Such lighting brings artistic flair to the space in an instant while also providing illumination.
Types of Indoor Wall Mounted Lights
There are different types of indoor lights you can choose from when selecting your wall sconces. Some of the most popular types include:
- WALL WASHING LIGHTS – As mentioned, wall washers do exactly what their name suggests: wash the walls behind them with illumination. This can be in a soft halo effect or have beams of light streaking out above or below them for a more dramatic look.
- UP AND DOWN LIGHTS – This style of modern wall sconce is particularly well suited as mood lighting. They are a type of wall washer that sends prominent beams of light both up and down the wall behind them.
- UPLIGHTERS – With uplighters, you can draw attention to certain elements of the room, such as design features or unique architecture. These tend to sit lower to the ground and shine upward on whatever you hope to highlight.
- SPOTLIGHTS AND TRACK LIGHTS – If you have a long hallway or an area where you hang art, you can create a gallery feel with wall mounted spotlights. These shine a direct beam of light wherever they are pointed and typically come with the ability to move the light heads in the direction you choose.
- READING LIGHTS – Reading lights are designed to be installed on the wall beside or above a bed. They shine a soft glow that is bright enough to read without being abrasive to tired eyes.
- RECESSED STAIR LIGHTING – One often overlooked way to incorporate LED indoor wall lights into your home is to use them to light the staircase. Whether you choose wall mounted fixtures or recessed wall lights, you can place them on the wall along the stair risers to illuminate the steps and create a more dramatic effect. This can also improve safety when navigating the stairs.
Tips on Hanging Indoor Wall Lights
Below are some things to consider when installing interior wall lights:
- LOCATION – Wall lights can be incorporated into virtually any room of the house. Some of the most popular places include entryways, stairwell landings, hallways and living spaces. Kitchens are also a common area for wall lights, especially when it comes to adding task lighting. In a bedroom setting, they can easily set a nice mood.
- HEIGHT – Generally speaking, you want to avoid placing lights at a height that is too close to eye level. This is not only to prevent walking into them but also to make sure they are not glaring. Take into account the height of your family members and the ceiling height when installing them, but it is generally recommended to install them around six feet from the surface below.
- SPACING – To ensure that the lights look symmetrical, it is recommended that you place them every six to eight feet. This may change depending on how bright the lights are or how large or small your room is. An open floor plan might also require more fixtures than a plan with separate living areas.
No matter what lamps you choose or where you install them, adding modern wall lights to your home can seriously elevate its look and feel. Below, you can get inspired by a few ideas for wall lights for your home.
Ideas for Modern Wall Lamps
Modern spaces that prioritise style and contemporary flair will benefit from the LWA387 5 Watt Hexagonal Interior LED Wall Light. This wall light, available in white or black, has a sleek hexagonal shape. The geometric light shines illumination down onto the wall beneath it to create a wall washing effect. Its 430 lumens of 3000k warm white light makes the fitting a nice addition to bedrooms and living rooms.
Decorate your home beautifully with the LWA427 3 Watt Wall Washer Interior Wall Light. The wall light features a half-cylinder shape that houses the bulb that is tilted upward at an angle. It shines a fan of 3000k warm white light at 300 lumens, making it excellent for indirect lighting. The design is small enough to be used in clusters and is particularly well-suited for accent light on a unique feature in the room.
If you’re looking to add mood lighting above all, you may like the LWA228 4 Watt LED Round Interior Wall Light. The wall light has a sleek disc shape that shines a halo around it on the wall behind it. Its soft, indirect lighting is great as a mood light or nightlight. The bulb outputs 400 lumens of 3200k warm white light, and it comes available in your choice of either black or white finishes, each with acrylic diffusers.
Perfect for placement over a desk or other task-driven area, the Leon 8 Watt 250mm Wide Brushed Silver LED Wall Light is a modern task light for any room in the house. It features a rectangular shape in a long bar orientation that brings modern charm to any space. This light shines gentle illumination above and below itself onto the wall. It outputs a total of 800 lumens of 3000k warm white light and is finished in sleek brushed aluminium.
Make a statement on your wall with this LWA243 Black 10 Watt LED Wall Light. This one of a kind wall light consists of a long bar on a base that shines light in a wide beam behind it onto the wall. The bar can be oriented either vertically or horizontally to suit your taste and needs. Overall, this fixture outputs an ultra-bright 1,000 lumens of 3000k warm white light.
