Signature Lighting and Fans, Calgary, Alberta

Designing with Light

Entries

ENTRIES MAKE first impressions. Light them warmly and you allow your guests to look their best as you invite them to come on in. Don’t over-light; the contrast to the outdoors can be disorienting. Both porch and entry fixtures should be well shielded to minimize glare.

An entry’s lighting sets the tone for what lies beyond in your home. The rule for both lighting style and fixtures: keep it simple. If you opt for an eye-catching chandelier or pendant, don’t add competing focal points. The same goes for accenting display objects and plantings. Add soft fill light, controlled by dimmers, by means of built-in cove lighting, light-diffusing wall sconces, or even an antique table lamp with an opaque shade.

What’s the view down the hall? Entry light levels and fixture style should complement the areas that are visible beyond the entry. A focal point or points down a long entryway can lead guests on into the living spaces. Lighting can make your entry seem bigger or smaller. Stretch an entry’s perceived size by uplighting a light-colored ceiling or by spacing fixtures horizontally down a hallway. To make a large space seem more intimate, try spare down-lighting, higher-contrast lighting, pinpoint accenting, or light diffusing wall sconces positioned low to effectively lower the ceiling line. Mirrors also spread light and create the illusion of more space.

A light for the coat closet and another near a mirror for that last- minute check make entry lighting complete.

Entry Lighting Tips from Signature Lighting & Fans

A bold entry sports twin cast-metal lamps that flank a
stylish mirror and sit atop a demilune table.

There's no glare-producing ceiling fixture here. Instead, the glowing, faux-painted walls are softly lit by indirect ceiling cove lighting, aided by a modern wall sconce. Pinpoint accenting adds punch, courtesy of ceiling-mounted down-lights with aimable eyeball trim.

A streamlined entry previews the ultramodern home design beyond. Lighting is correspondingly clean: hidden downlights accent the framed photos, and a warm glow comes from strip lighting tucked benearth the floating shelf's lip.

Effective lighting pulls the eye into this entry and down an open hallway that doubles as an art gallery. The zoomy entry sconce sets the tone; paintings are lit by ceiling-mounted downlights with slot apertures. A built-in soffit bounces soft fill light off the ceiling.

Entry mirrors can stretch apparent space and spread available light. This narrow, windowless entry in an urban row house achieves both effects. Wall sconces positioned on the mirror add a warm glow and echo fixtures found throughout the house.