Creative Foyer Lighting Ideas

Contrary to popular belief, foyer is one area of your house that needs special attention. After all, it is the first thing that your guests will get to see, when they come to your place. This inevitably makes foyer décor as well as lighting, an important part of any home decoration project.

When we talk of foyer lighting, it includes both natural as well as ambient lighting. As the amount of natural lighting a foyer gets completely depends on the architecture of the house and nothing much can be done about it, let us simply focus on ambient lighting as well as ways to use it in the best possible way.

Innovative Foyer Lighting Ideas

The first thing to do when deciding on the lighting for the foyer is to look at its size. Is it wide or is it narrow? Is it single story or double? A double story, large foyer will any day need more lighting than a single story one. The second very important thing that you should consider is the paint color on the walls of the foyer.

Usually, the paint color on the walls of the foyer is in accordance with the adjoining rooms, however, if you are planning to repaint the walls, go for lighter shades as they give the illusion of a much wider and larger space. If you already have a wide foyer, you can definitely go in for some interesting, darker paint colors.

Chandeliers and Lamps

Let's come to the options for foyer lighting that are available to you. Here I will start with my favorite lighting option - the sparkling chandeliers! If you are one of those lucky people who have a high, wide and large foyer, add a beautiful chandelier, right in the middle of the roof. Choose from crystal, metallic or wrought iron chandelier, depending upon the rest of your home décor. Add a few decorative table lamps to the foyer too, as they will fill out the large space and make it look beautiful. On the other hand, for those of you who have a small foyer in their house, recessed lighting and wall sconces are a good option. The best thing about recessed lighting is that it illuminates the space without giving the impression of consuming or occupying it. That's why, a small foyer seems a bit wide if recessed lighting is used in it.

High "Lighting" the Décor

Accent lighting, i.e., specific light that you use on wall art, shelves, wall vases and other wall décor items, in order to highlight them, is greatly in vogue too. So, if you have some exquisite wall art pieces and you want your guests to take notice of them, add clip-on lights or wall sconces on top of them and see how their beauty increases! Another interesting alternative for accent lighting is track lighting. Track lighting can lend a lot of drama and style to your foyer décor, as it can be used to highlight whichever part of the wall décor that you desire, at any given time!

Lighting Makes the Work Easy

Next, we come to task lighting. A foyer is not just the place through which you enter the house. It can be sometimes used for a number of tasks, such as, tying the shoelaces or reading mails. To make all such tasks easy, it is important that the foyer is well-lit. Usually, table lamps prove to be the most effective source for task lighting, so you can go in for these, if you too are using your foyer for similar activities.

Having Fun with Lights

When it comes to decorating the foyer, along with the wall art, foyer and hallway lighting in itself can be used to enhance the beauty of these important areas of your house. For enhancing the esthetic appeal of the foyer, you can hang an etched-glass pendant lights from its ceiling. Or, you can even add an assortment of differently shaped chandeliers to the foyer ceiling. If you have shelves on the walls of the foyer, you can highlight them with tea lights. Chinese paper lanterns, if used appropriately, can liven up your foyer like none! Another good idea for foyer lighting is floor cove lighting, i.e., using rope lights to line up the lower edges of the walls and along with it, installing recessed floor lights. This combination will indeed lend a very futuristic, modern appeal to your foyer.

Whatever type of lighting that you choose for the foyer in the end, make sure to put on a dimmer switch. With a dimmer switch, you can have full control over the level of lighting and thus, change it depending upon the amount of natural light you get throughout the day. Secondly, the choice of lighting for your foyer completely depends on the kind of look and feel that you want to create in the house. Simple, elegant or grand, take your pick and then choose the foyer lighting accordingly! And one last tip before I sign off - do not forget to declutter and decorate the front porch of your house, after all, anyone entering your foyer will pass through it first.