How do you light your foyer?

The appropriate lighting in a foyer is often guided by the scale of the room. Whatever the size, however, the use of layering is a useful and appropriate solution.

In almost every situation, the use of a decorative fixture in the center of the ceiling is desirable. In two-story spaces, the use of a larger chandelier will fit well for creating both task lighting and ambient lighting. The chandelier also will bring attention to itself and create a desirable accent focus.

In one-story spaces it is often more appropriate to use close-to-ceiling fixtures, or smaller chandeliers that have an appropriate scale in proportion to the ceiling height. In today’s marketplace there are thousands of interesting options in decorative fixtures that are either surface-mounted or close-to-ceiling.

To create the most desirable lighting solution in a foyer, look for opportunities to use recessed lighting that will bring additional ambient light to the space. When using a central decorative fixture, it is useful to place two or more recessed fixtures on either side of the fixture to bring added illumination.

Other useful foyer lighting solutions, in addition to the central chandelier, are to use wall sconces and/or small portable table lamps placed on a small table in the space. The sconces and table lamps add a valuable layering effect that brings a human scale to the space. While recessed and decorative ceiling fixtures add appropriate task and ambient lighting, sconces and table lamps bring a sense of human scale and are excellent for creating focal accent points.

See a Lighting One sales consultant for more information and design ideas. Posted with permission from http://www.lighting-one.com/