Often, the appearance of the hallway is not given due attention, focusing on living rooms. And completely in vain, because the first impression about the house, about the taste of its owners depends on the appearance of this small room. Fashionable ceiling lamps in the hallway, chosen carefully and with special trepidation, will help to make the corridor cozy, light and welcoming.
The main criteria for choosing lighting
Windows located in the hallway are an infrequent phenomenon, of course, unless we are talking about corridors in private houses and cottages. Apartments in this place are already habitually dark, and therefore high-quality lighting is especially important here. His choice and character depends on many factors.
So, the first selection criterion is the overall illumination of the house. If an entire apartment is shrouded in subdued soft light, the cool color of the fixtures will cause a bright resonance in the lighting and quickly start to cause eye fatigue. A bright apartment, on the other hand, requires powerful lighting fixtures in the hallway, so as not to be seen as dark, dull and gloomy. It is worth noting that even soft light should illuminate the entire area of the room, and therefore you can think about purchasing several devices and placing them along the entire length of the corridor or the perimeter of the hallway.
Another criterion is the directionality of the light. As it has already become clear, the main task of lighting fixtures for the hallway is to provide diffused light that can envelop every detail of the interior. Oddly enough, the ceiling can help with this. Its light, or better glossy surface will reflect diffused light from the shades directed upwards. It is good if glass or plastic in decorative elements is made in a matte translucent design.
Lighting types
There are many types of lamps and chandeliers today, and if we are talking about high-quality lighting in the hallway, then we will need at least two of them. The first type is central lighting devices, for example, a chandelier, the second is local lighting devices, such as spotlights or sconces. The latter type is used for the area near the cabinet or mirror.
So, chandeliers are acceptable for the hallway, but their appearance should be as appropriate as possible for such a small room. So, models with five or more shades are better left for the living room, preferring lighting fixtures with 1-3 lamps. It should be said that the trend of this season in the interior is single hanging lamps with a simple design, for example, in the form of cylinders. Such models are placed on the ceiling in the amount of 4-5 pieces in a chaotic or checkerboard pattern close to each other.
Speaking of classic long chandeliers, most designers tend to abandon them in the interior, especially if the ceilings do not have sufficient height. If you want to create a truly hospitable home, it is important to take into account in advance that a guest can hit his head on a long chandelier and get not the most positive impression of the house.
Spots may be a better solution. A kind of "short" lamps are rotating shades on a metal or wooden bracket. It is in the mobility of the plafonds that the absolute plus of this design lies, because they can be directed to every corner of the hallway.
A fashionable lamp called "skylight" looks perfect. It is a flat device that is attached directly to the ceiling or in a niche specially prepared for it. Inside the window there are spotlights, outside there are stained glass windows made of glass or plastic depicting the sky, branches and other natural motifs. This design looks truly bewitching and original.
With stretch ceilings, such options are unlikely to be implemented, however, holding spotlights of all kinds of designs around the perimeter of the hallway will help transform the space.
Features of illumination of different types of premises
Once in a store, it is quite difficult to make a choice, because in rare cases you can imagine exactly how this or that model will look. To choose a lighting fixture without unnecessary returns and a huge amount of time wasted, it is important to consider the shape of the hallway.
Long and narrow corridor
A long and narrow corridor is a misfortune for all owners of old-style apartments, such as "Stalin's" and "Khrushchevs". Several spots along the corridor will help to change the look of the dark "tunnel". Their shades should be directed towards long walls, and even better - at glass frames or mirrors hanging on the walls. The light in such an interior will double, and the illuminated walls will no longer look so heavy and put pressure on the person who has come. Another good way to illuminate long walls is with spotlights or LED strip.
With the help of lighting and some interior items, you can significantly reduce the length of the corridor. So, a small table is placed against a short wall with decorative lamps located on it, which catch the eye.
Small room
The minimum area of the hallway is also not uncommon for apartments of the past. Not only is it difficult for even two family members to turn around on it, but also most of the lamps strive to look bulky or inappropriate. For example, long chandeliers in this case will definitely be superfluous, as well as short models with many shades. Single shades and spots - this is the solution for hallways with small dimensions. It is worth noting that despite these dimensions, local lighting should also be taken care of by adding spotlights near the mirror or cabinet.
Custom form
Often, non-standard corridors are found in private houses and delight with their spaciousness. It can be square and rectangular hallways, as well as L and U-shaped.
To illuminate every corner of such a hallway, you will need a chandelier for the central part. It can be anything except overly luxurious options that are best reserved for living rooms. Laconic options with several shades in the style of minimalism, modern or high-tech are an excellent choice for modern apartments. Corners and L-shaped corridors must be supplemented with spotlights or spots aimed at long walls, thereby expanding the space around you.
Designers' recommendations: playing with light
Designers do not get tired of creating new ideas for small spaces, rejoicing in new victories over cramped space. And in this they are helped by mirrors, which work especially effectively with the play of light. So, the masters advise you to choose a hallway design with the obligatory use of mirrors. They can be present on the doors of the wardrobe, be the facing material for the walls adjacent to the hallway, or run along the entire perimeter of one of the walls. The main point is the directionality and reflection of light from mirrors.
In order for the mirror to "expand" the existing walls, it is enough to install spot lighting around the perimeter of the ceiling, install such a chandelier so that it is mirrored on the surface. This play of light is very effective, and therefore should not be neglected, even if there is no place for a large mirror. Several fixtures aiming at a compact mirror by the hallway table can also add a touch of spaciousness.
As mentioned earlier, entrance halls often lack natural light, which often provokes visual cramped rooms. Frosted glass doors adjacent to the corridor will help to avoid this.
A fashionable light tone will help create artificially created niches in the hallway. They are possible only in a rectangular or square hallway with sufficient width, because the distance from wall to wall will have to be somewhat narrowed when creating a plasterboard structure. In the niche, sconces or spotlights are installed, creating amazing shadows along the entire perimeter of the corridor.
Placing several different fixtures in a hallway is another way to make a space look modern and stylish. At the front door, the softest lighting tone is used, the central chandelier is trusted with greater brightness, while the third lamp in the adjacent room must match the lighting pattern with the device in the room. In this version, even a brown or any other dark corridor will sparkle with new colors. The owners of the apartment will understand how convenient it is to have three independent devices in the hallway, saving electricity and preserving the health of their eyes.
With regard to the color of the hallway and the lamps in it, the designers identified for themselves the top popular tones, including:
- white;
- grey;
- brown;
- sand;
- the black.
It is worth noting that a small room needs light colors, and therefore it is absolutely unreasonable to refuse white or sand tone here.
Such tones also look great on shades. The color of light wood in the decoration of shades and brackets is still at the peak of popularity today. Sustainability is the main theme in the new collections of lighting fixtures from all well-known manufacturers.
With enough space, brown and gray tones for the hallway will be a good solution. Of course, each of them must be combined with a light tone. So, light milk walls look luxurious with ceiling lamps with soft light, framed by a milk chocolate shade. However, the plafonds can be classically light, but the framing in the form of wooden frames can be assigned to dark noble wood. Such options look cozy and home-like, combined with many warm shades in the interior.
Summarizing the above, it is safe to say that with the right lighting, small hallways can look stylish and light, and large ones with a royal scale. Experiments and advice from designers will help you make your dream home out of an ordinary apartment, from which warm home light shines.
For information on how to choose a lamp for the hallway, see the next video.