Wall Light Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right One

How to choose a wall light

A few things decide whether a wall light suits the spot:

• Indoor or outdoor: outdoors needs an IP rating and a corrosion-resistant build.
• Where it's going: beside a mirror, either side of a bed, a hallway, entry or fireplace.
• In pairs or singly: wall lights reward symmetry, so many spots want a matched pair.
• Finish: sets the mood and ties the fitting to the room.
• With a shade or frame only: some brackets let you choose the shade to match.

Here's how to weigh each one up.

1. Indoor or outdoor?

This decides everything else. An outdoor wall light needs an IP rating matched to how exposed the spot is, and a material that resists corrosion. If you're lighting an entrance, facade or exterior wall, work through our outdoor lighting buying guide and IP ratings guide first. The rest of this guide is about wall lights indoors.

2. Where wall lights work indoors

Wall lights do the jobs a ceiling light can't. Either side of a mirror they give even light for a bathroom or dressing area. Flanking a bed they replace table lamps and free the bedside. Along a hallway or up a stairwell they light the path and add rhythm, and beside a fireplace or artwork they lift a living room.

Most of these spots suit a matched pair, which is where wall lights earn their symmetry. As a rough guide to placement, general wall lights sit around 1.5 to 1.6m from the floor to the centre of the fitting. Beside a mirror, mount them nearer eye level so they light the face rather than the top of the head, and beside a bed sit them around 1.5m or just above the headboard so the light and switch fall to hand.

3. Use them in pairs for symmetry

A single wall light suits a small landing or a reading nook, but most wall lights look their best in a pair. Two either side of a mirror, bed or fireplace frame what's between them and balance the wall. For a period or deco look, our fan-shaped wall sconce and our Bentleigh bracket are made to be hung two by two.

When you set a pair out, line them up with what sits between them: match the spacing to the width of the mirror or bed, keep both fittings at the same height, and centre them on the feature so the wall reads balanced. The larger the wall, the further apart the pair can sit before the symmetry is lost.

4. Types and styles

Our indoor wall lights cover a few clear styles. Sconces like our Weston suit a simple, understated wall. Crystal glass wall brackets, our Celestial, Zurich and Louis 15th, pick up a chandelier's sparkle at wall height and pair with those ranges. For Art Deco, our fan-shaped wall sconce and our Bentleigh bracket with its opal gloss shade carry the look onto the wall. See our Art Deco lighting guide for more on those.

The glass matters as much as the frame. An opal or frosted shade softens the light and hides the globe, while clear or cut crystal throws more sparkle and a sharper light. The direction the shade faces changes the effect too: an uplight washes the wall and ceiling for a softer feel, while a downlight throws more usable light onto a bench, mirror or book.

5. With a shade, or frame only

Some of our wall brackets are sold as a frame only, so you choose the glass shade to match your room rather than taking a fixed pairing. That's worth knowing when you're coordinating with other fittings: you can run the same shade across a bracket and a pendant, or mix a brass frame with a different shade.

Frame only also future-proofs the fitting: if you restyle the room later you can change the shade without replacing the bracket. If you'd rather it arrive complete, the sconces and the shade-and-bracket sets come ready to install.

6. Choose the finish to suit the room

Finish ties the fitting to the room. We carry wall lights in antique black, satin brass, polished brass, chrome, patina and bronze. Polished and satin brass read warm and classic, chrome cleaner and sharper, patina and black darker and moodier. Match the finish to the tapware, door hardware or other lighting already in the space so it sits as a considered choice. Our guide to finishes explains how each is made and cared for.

A quick way to choose

• Settle indoor or outdoor first. Outdoors sends you to the IP and outdoor guides.
• Pick the spot, then the pair. Most wall spots suit two matched fittings.
• Choose the style. Simple sconce, crystal bracket, or deco fan and shade.
• Decide shade or frame only. Frame only lets you match the glass to the room.
• Match the finish. Tie it to the tapware, hardware or other lighting nearby.

Browse our indoor wall lights, or read our finishes guide and Art Deco lighting guide to get the details right. For exterior walls, our outdoor lighting buying guide covers what changes.