Using Wall Sconces for Style and Function

Wall sconces are incredibly versatile lighting fixtures. While they are often used to add flare to a room, they can also serve very practical purposes. As a result, they are a great choice to add anywhere in your home.

Where to hang wall sconces 

Where you hang your sconces depends on the lighting design you hope to create and the space in which you’re working, as they can be used for ambient lighting, task lighting or accent lighting.

If you are working in a large space, such as a living room, you may want your sconce to contribute to the room’s overall lighting – or ambient lighting. If this is the case, your sconce will work best when paired with a type of overhead lighting. Place your sconce, or sconces, where the overhead lighting does not reach.

If you want to feature something unique in a room, such as a piece of art or a musical instrument, wall sconces can also be used as accent lighting to steer people’s eyes towards those special items. To create some nice balance, buy two of the same sconce and hang them on either side of the item you wish to highlight, as shown in the image by Hubbardton Forge accompanying this post.

Sconces can also be used over couches, desks, bedside tables or on either side of a bathroom mirror as task lighting. When doing so, it is important to hang your sconces in just the right place, as you want to make sure the shadows they cast do not get in the way of your ability to complete your tasks. Consult a lighting professional to help you hang your sconces.

Stairways and long hallways are also common places to use sconces to help light the way and add decoration.

Visit your local ALA-member showroom to learn more about how wall sconces can fit into your lighting plan.