A beautiful, brilliant foyer lighting fixture is key to creating a safe and welcoming entrance into your home. Chandeliers are a popular choice, but ceiling pendants, flush mounts, semi-flush mounts, and sconces are also great sources of general lighting. Your foyer lighting sets the tone for your home, so choose lighting fixtures that are versatile, efficient, and visually complementary to the rest of your interior décor.

Style

When choosing your foyer light fixture, consider both the current design of your home and the style that you would like to have in your entry way. Look at a variety of options and try to picture each of these in your foyer. If you have a modest home, a chrome fixture with square light pieces or a chandelier in bronze finish with shades would look appropriate. A small foyer would need a smaller and more structured fixture. If you have a larger home, a higher impact, crystal chandelier would fit perfectly. For instance, a mansion with a two-story entry way would look stunning with a huge, 400-watt chandelier.

Size

Ceiling height is a major factor. If your foyer ceiling is low, then consider a flush or semi-flush mount. Insisting on installing a chandelier or a ceiling pendant might lead to accidents later on. No matter how beautiful your foyer lighting is, you wouldn’t want your guests to bump their heads as they enter or leave your home.

If you are going to have a ceiling in your foyer, get one that is in proportion with the size of your entrance space. Your chandelier should not overpower other elements within this are, unless you want this to be the focal part of your foyer. A perfect example would be an oversized chandelier that is taller than you. This would only look great if it is installed in a two story mansion with a very large entrance hall.

How to determine the right size for a chandelier

To get the perfect fit for your chandelier or ceiling pendant, add the length and width of the foyer area and then convert the total into inches. For example, an area which is 18 feet by 14 feet in size will have a total of 32 feet. Convert this total to inches to get the ideal diameter, so the diameter of your light fixture would be 32 inches. Also, for a ceiling height which is 9 to 10 feet high, the bottom of your lighting fixture should be about 7 feet from the floor.

Light

For sufficient illumination, a chandelier should have a total of 200 to 400 watts. If in case you really want a particular fixture but it doesn’t give off the amount of lighting that you need, you may compensate by adding other fixtures such as wall sconces or ceiling pendants.

Weight

Another factor to keep in mind when purchasing a light fixture is its weight. A standard ceiling outlet box is usually capable of holding a maximum of 50 pounds, so there might be a need for additional hardware and components.