Wall Lighting Designs & Installation

Wall lights are a great way to add to the overall aesthetic and interior design of the home. When undergoing electrical renovations to interior renovations, considering installing or changing the wall lights is encouraged. These lights that are installed on the wall can also be used in different ways to illuminate specific places in the room. They can act as a single light, similar to a table or wall lamp, or work together to brighten a space. Some important tips to remember with wall light designs are:

Focal Feature

Wall lights can be used to illuminate a specific feature of the room, such as art. This can be in the form of a beam of light under the focal point or pointing above and shining the light down. The specific feature or focal point of the room where the wall light shines can include art, sculpture and items (such as a record player).

Adds to the Interior Aesthetic

Living rooms, dining rooms and other indoor spaces in the home will have a general theme and aseptic common to each room. Wall lights can be installed to add to this look and be included as a decorative feature. The light may have similar shapes, angles, textures or colours to the rest of the room and be included in the aesthetic. They need only little space, can be singular or in a group and will help with the illumination and style of the space. 

To understand different aesthetics to choose from when it comes to lights, our blog ‘lighting trends’ provides examples to help. 

Functionality

Wall lights, as with other lights, will illuminate a room or part of a space. Along with ensuring the lights add to and merge with the interior aesthetic, these lights need to also be considered for their functionality. Wall mounted lights will often not replace ceiling lights because they will be the main method of illuminating the room. 

They will instead act as a way to illuminate small parts of the room or be used to create dimmed or little lighting when needed. Some examples include a single wall light for a reading zone or many lights on the wall that can be used to light a wall from top to bottom.

Light fixtures that will be installed on a wall can be installed by any person. The wiring behind the wall light fixture and the light switch can only be worked on by a fully qualified electrician. Non trained electricians can install the fixture itself by following the steps below:

1. Make sure power to the specific light circuit is switched off before performing the electrical wall light installation. Use a voltage tester to guarantee that the wall light circuit has no power
2. If a hole is not already there where the light will be installed, cut one for the opening. Make sure to not accidentally cut any wires or cables when doing so
3. Grab the cables, pull them through the wall sconce and to the switch
4. Clamp the cables to the wall and to the wall box and tighten the screws around the wall sconce
5. After the light wall sconce has been mounted, wire it by having the correct wire colour lead to the corresponding wire on the wall sconce, such as the white wire and black wire. Also, ensure the earth or ground wire of the wall light fixture is also connected 
6. Place the wall light fixture over the sconce and connect it properly ensuring the base and all parts are correctly connected to the wall
7. Install the lightbulb and the switch for the light if there is one
8. Turn the power back on and perform a test to see if the wall light works, if not then have an electrician see what the problem is

We strongly recommend that a licensed electrician performs the wall light installation even if the job seems simple. Errors and faults are more likely to occur when an under trained electrician undertakes the wall light installation. Our Emergency Electrician team is here at all hours of the day to perform a wall light installation service and ensure that it is completed professionally and safely.