The entrance to your home sets the tone for your hospitality. A beautiful front stoop with flowers leads to a glass-lined door. Your guests ring an easily found doorbell, wipe their feet on a textured mat, and step through into the space you’ve carefully created. More than the furniture or tile or objects of art, your front entry lighting is a careful consideration.
If you’re lucky enough to have a natural light source, such as a glass door with glass sidelights, then nature is on your side, but you’ll need additional consideration for overcast days and dark nights. Overhead light sources can provide a focal point upon entry. An elegant lantern type fixture or even a small crystal chandelier can give your entryway both the light and the something extra you’re looking for. Consider a combination of the two.
Perhaps you’re going for something sleeker but you don’t want to sacrifice brightness. Recessed lighting is a perfect solution for minimal space impact with a maximum light source. And with so many types of bulbs available, you can really choose the color of the lighting to suit you. Don’t forget the use of mirrors and lamps to enhance and pinpoint your entry lighting.
In this post, we’ve found great examples of all five entrance hall lighting sources: natural light, overhead lighting, recessed lighting, lamps, and mirrors. So let’s get started!
Natural Light Source
Nothing lights better than the sun, which is why so many people choose glass-paneled doors and sidelights for their entryways. Not only does it allow you to see out, but it allows all those glorious rays to filter in. Of course, on overcast days and during the evening hours, you’ll have to supplement the sun with some other lighting, but don’t be afraid to let the daylight in when designing your entry.
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Plate glass windows allow maximum daylight to stream into this entryway. Great light makes a welcoming place for house plants. Note the addition of recessed lighting for darker day needs.
Great natural light doesn’t mean you have to shirk on interior lighting. This glamorous entry utilizes it all, enormous windows, overhead fixtures, and recessed lighting. There are even mirror finishes on the pendant lamps to reflect the luminosity.
Sparkling crystal prisms make this LED Orb Chandelier a real eye-catcher.
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Don’t discount the importance of gorgeous outside light to spotlight your beautiful entry and equally gorgeous front door.
Leaded textured glass with matching sidelights provides both privacy and natural light in an entrance hall.
Contemporary art on the wall, a sleek modern staircase, and an amazing drum overhead light make this day-lit entrance hall appealing and bright.
This sleek brushed nickel design of 5 orbs hanging to meet a soft gray linen shade is perfect for an understated modern entrance hall. It has a tempered glass diffuser that allows soft light to spread into your room.
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If you have a traditional wooden door featuring light panels, you can always retrofit it to replace the wooden panels with glass. This DIY updo will take a dark entryway and lighten it up with gorgeous sunshine.
Perhaps your entrance hall is directly connected to your living area and all you need is an open door to bring in the light from windows and the light from your living room’s beautiful globe fixture. All glass fixtures allow for full light to shine through.
We found a great globe fixture that would do the trick.
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Ceiling Or Wall Mounted Fixtures
Ceiling fixtures are a way to light up a dark entryway. They can also showcase your home’s style if you choose a fixture that has presence and artistic quality. You can further personalize your hall’s lighting with your choice of bulb wattage and warmth.
Sleek wall sconces on a granite wall combined with recessed lighting give an elegant vibe to this long entry hall.
These lovely midtown modern sconces from Possini are a combination of frosted glass and polished nickel to give a contemporary vibe to your own entryway.
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This elegant entry takes advantage of both natural lighting and overhead lighting to provide a welcoming environment at any time of day. Glass globe flush overheads work on the ceiling below the landing and wrought iron sconces to mirror the design of the staircase brighten up the sides of the large window on the first landing.
This small bowl-shaped flush mount light for the hall is studded with clear crystal beads for extra sparkle and dimension. Each light takes two 60W E12 bulbs (not included).
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These gorgeous sconces from Franklin Ironworks are beautiful and functional. Curved golden bronze finished metal is topped off with amber art glass.
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Neutral colors in your interior go far to enhance the natural light of your entrance space. A simple flush mount canister is a minimal approach to overhead lighting and the matching of its color to the ceiling keeps the floating staircase and basket collection the focal point of the well-lit entry.
No natural light? No problem. Double on your pendant lights and flood that hallway with illumination. These corded pendant lights are great because they can screw in to replace your standard apartment recessed lighting without having to call an electrician.
We love these cuties with their hanging crystal beads that shoot prisms of color when turned on.
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Want the feel of recessed lighting but don’t want to break the bank having them retrofitted in your entrance hall? Consider track lighting. It sits flush to the ceiling and gives the same overall feeling and even coverage as recessed lighting without having to cut into your ceiling.
In an open concept home, your entryway is often part of the main living area. So how do you distinguish it as a unique space? Consider choosing wall sconces to frame the door and pair with a flush mount fixture that ties in with the rest of the larger spaces design. In this case, simple brass and glass wall sconces pair beautiful with the multiple lights flush mount also in brass.
This simple brass sconce features a frosted glass globe in a sleek contemporary look. It is soft, stable, and non-flickering, making it easy on the eye.
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For a fun coordinating overhead light look, try this five-light flush mount chandelier in a golden brass finish. It can take LED, CFL, or Incandescent light bulbs.
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Extra tall ceilings give the freedom to choose large and elegant chandeliers. This double windowed space utilizes both natural light and a stunning 8 shaded chandelier.
Dark wood can make for dark entryways, but it doesn’t mean you have to steer clear of the glam. This tall crystal chandelier makes the space magical with the glow of its warm crystalline light. The clever use of mirrors on the sidewalls helps reflect and multiply the glitter.
Consider a French Empire style chandelier if you really want to glam it up. These were originally made of metal and used candles for light. But around the time of Versailles, the French Royalty decided to glam up the look with crystals and gilt. Here is a couple that we think are stunning.
This beauty is a double tier with antique bronze finishes, glass crystals, and 5 lights for illumination.
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Go for the glitz with this gold finished stunner with Empress crystals. This fixture holds 15 candelabra style lights and comes with an adjustable chain for the ceiling.
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Whitewashed walls and a long hall runner lead our eye to the double windows above the glass and wood doors. A single fixture provides light for darker days but this space relies on sunlight and soft colors.
Recessed Lighting
The use of recessed lighting is perfect if you want something sleek and modern. It’s a perfect choice for lower ceiling heights and provides ample illumination. Think about keeping your bulb choice warm, like halogen or incandescent, but if you’re going for LED bulbs, keep them in the 2700k temperature range.
Lamps
A gorgeous lamp on an entry table provides a warm beacon for when the sun goes down. If you want more intimate lighting for your entry, consider using lamps. Not only do they provide light but they are easily changeable and provide a visual focal point for your visitors.
Locked into a small entryway without natural light or good overhead light? Want a choice between bright overheads or something more intimate? A cozy entry table with an elegant lamp could be the ticket. We found some lovely examples that would look wonderful in your entry hall.
This classic bronze-hued lamp goes with a number of different design schemes. It could work with traditional, rustic, and even farmhouse with its cage-like base and classic linen shade.
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Want something a bit more elegant and eye-catching? Try this silver plate with soft near white fabric shade.
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Mirrors
One way to capitalize on your lighting is the strategic use of mirrors in your entrance hall. A beautiful large mirror can reflect the natural light from a glass door and can capture the sparkle from your overheads. Though not a light source itself, it’s reflective properties amplify illumination.
What this hallway lacks in natural lighting is made up for with the use of the large wall mirror. It not only reflects the light but creates the illusion of space in a cramped entryway.
We found this gorgeous example in our searching.
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This large and lovely entryway takes advantage of the natural light by amplifying it with a large windowpane type mirror above a matching iron bench. It’s also fun to see the double mirror of entry and bathroom next to it.
This rustic arched window pane mirror in distressed white (also available in bronze) would look great in an airy entry.
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