4 MUST-KNOWS FOR STAIRWELL LIGHTING

Decorative staircase lighting should be functional, sculptural, and suit the space provided. It can be difficult to get right, yet the alternative can be expensive and frustrating. Here are four tips to help guide your staircase lighting design:

1. Choose your fixture mounting location carefully. Consider both the staircase style and the height and pitch of the ceiling, and remember that the best location for a fixture is not always in the center of the stairway. For example, while a round chandelier can work perfectly in the middle of a curved staircase, it rarely works in the center of a switchback style staircase.

2. Install your fixture prior to flooring and railings. This route is easier, cheaper, and less risky than paying installers to work carefully around finish materials and furnishings. If your fixture requires bulbs, be sure the correct bulb quantity is on site during installation.

3. LED makes the best choice for stairwell lighting. Typically, stairwell fixtures are not easily accessible. Choosing LED bulbs will ensure that your staircase is beautifully illuminated for years with minimal maintenance cost and no hassle.

4. Have all decision-makers on-site during installation.  Determining the right overall height of a stairwell fixture can be tricky, and with multi-pendant chandeliers the ideal height for each pendant can be entirely subjective. The designer and/or homeowner should be on-site during installation to provide input on the finished configuration.

Hammerton offers a wide selection of unique lighting designs that are ideal for stairwell applications. We are experts at customizing canopy plates, mounting hardware, fixture size and suspension length to suit even the most challenging stairwell installations, and we offer a breadth of material and finish options to create a lighting solution that’s unique to your stairwell space.  Browse this gallery of Hammerton stairwell installations for inspiration!