Solving an empty wall with wall lights: height, spacing and light direction

An empty wall only becomes a wall when light falls on it. Two or three wall lights at the same height, with light that grazes up and down the surface, turn a bare wall into a calm, structured plane. Hang them at 1.6 to 1.8 m, spread them evenly or match them to the furniture in front, and choose the light direction according to what the room needs.

Wall lights do something in a room that a ceiling light cannot. They bring light to eye level, they light vertical surfaces, and those vertical surfaces determine how light and how large a room feels. A room with a bright ceiling light and dark walls feels smaller than the same room with less light but light-coloured walls.

At what height do you hang wall lights?

For mood and room lighting: just above eye level when standing, usually 1.6 to 1.8 m to the centre of the lamp. That way you do not look into the light source as you walk through the room, and the light still has room to fan out upwards and downwards. With a high ceiling it can go higher; with a 2.40 m ceiling keep it lower, around 1.6 m, so that the upward light is still visible before it hits the ceiling.

A few exceptions:

• Reading light next to the sofa or bed hangs lower, so that the light falls on the book and not in your eyes. Use an adjustable wall light there with an arm or a head you can turn.
• Light beside a mirror hangs at around face height, to the left and right of the mirror. Licht.de recommends diffuse, low-glare light there from elongated lamps or lamps that shine indirectly onto the wall, and no spotlights aimed at the mirror.
• In a stairwell you measure from the steps, not from the floor. More on that in lighting stairs and hallways.

How many wall lights, and how far apart?

On an open wall an even distribution works: 1.5 to 2.5 m between the lamps, and half that distance between the outermost lamp and the corner. Closer together and the bands of light merge into one surface; further apart and you get separate spots with dark strips in between.

If there is a piece of furniture against the wall, that furniture sets the rhythm. Two wall lights on either side of a sofa or a sideboard, each 20 to 40 cm beyond the end, look calmer than three lamps neatly spread across the wall but not across the furniture. If there is a window or a door in the wall, match the lamps to it: symmetrical around the opening, or in line with the frames.

Light upwards, downwards or both: what is the difference?

The direction of the light changes the room more than the lamp itself.

• Upwards: the light falls on the top of the wall and on the ceiling, and comes back softly from there. The room looks taller and more spacious. Writing about corridors, licht.de says that they feel larger and friendlier when walls and ceiling are brightened with powerful indirect light.
• Downwards: a pool of light under the lamp, on the furniture and the floor. That gives islands of light, cosy but less spacious.
• Both directions: two bands of light, one upwards and one downwards, with the lamp as a dark band in the middle. That is the classic way to give an empty wall rhythm. On rough material such as brick, concrete or limewash, the light grazes across the texture and makes that texture visible.
• All round, through glass or fabric: a wall light with opal glass or a fabric shade gives light in all directions. Less graphic, but more usable light in the room.

A wall with a painting or a cabinet

If there is art on the wall, you light the work and not the wall around it. Licht.wissen 14, the licht.de brochure on light in the home, gives a simple rule: the light should fall on the painting at an angle from above, from about 0.5 to 1.5 m from the wall. That way you get little reflection in glass or varnish. A picture light above the frame does the same from close by; a track system along the wall lets you move the spotlights when you change the art.

An open bookcase or a cabinet with objects looks best lit from the front and at an angle from above, with one or two adjustable wall spotlights or spotlights on a track, not with a lamp that shines straight down into the cabinet.

Lighting a TV wall without reflections

A dark wall with a bright TV screen is tiring to look at. Licht.de recommends lighting the area around the TV diffusely, for example with an LED strip behind the set, diffusely shining wall lights or well-shielded table lamps beside it. Aim everything so that you see no reflection on the screen: no spotlight straight at the TV, and no lamp opposite the screen that you see reflected in the black. More about LED strips in choosing an LED strip.