Lighting is an essential element within a home and is one of the most effective ways to enhance the ambience of a room. Appropriately installed, lighting can also create the illusion of space and therefore shouldn’t be an aspect that is overlooked, but embraced.

The right design and style of lighting can transform your stairway combining functionality with style. A staircase can be a key focal point within a home. The right choice of lighting can enhance your staircase giving it the spotlight it deserves.

Staircase Wall Lighting:

Wall spotlights can emphasize specific architectural details of a staircase. When positioned pointing at the step surface, the dramatic focus of the light can highlight the quality of each tread or the flowing grain of timber stairs.

There are a variety of shapes and sizes available; depending on size of lighting depends on the frequency of placement. It is recommended to install wall fixtures every three steps to avoid any harsh glares, although this depends on the size of the spotlights. Often smaller spotlights are installed every other step or even above every step in a wall.

Step & Tread Lighting:

A strip of LED lighting can be installed discreetly into a rebated section on the underside of a stair tread, which hides any of the lighting fixtures and creates dramatic glow on the tread below. This versatile lighting method can be adapted to suit both open and closed riser staircase design.

Alternatively for closed riser stair designs only, spotlights can be installed onto the surface of the riser at equal intervals, which in turn produces the same illuminous effect.

Lighting within Glass Steps & Treads:

?A glass staircase design is great for incorporating lighting due to its transparent nature allowing light to flow through the material and around the home.

By using a triple laminated glass tread design, LED Lighting can be incorporated into the bottom layer of glass displaying the effect that the lighting is embedded into each tread. In addition, Italian cracked glass can be used to enhance the lighting and create a glamorous shimmery effect.

Alternatively, the LED lighting can be installed within the side of a glass staircase, as long as the stringer is opaque so the wiring and fixings can be hidden. By side mounted the LED lighting next to the glass treads, this allows the light to project through the glass making the whole tread glow.

Feature Lighting & Chandeliers:

Bespoke feature lighting is great way to brighten up your staircase as well as the entire room, without worrying about it affecting the staircase design. A feature lighting or central chandelier can also be installed as an artistic statement or to simply complement the surrounding décor within a home.

Often a helical or curved staircase blocks out natural light due to their size and structure. In addition, the use of solid materials on a staircase instead of glass can impede on the flow of light within a home making the atmosphere rather dim.

To make up for the lack of light, a hanging pendant or cluster lighting feature is a popular choice. Its flexible designs allows a person to stagger each light piece at the desired length, creating a cascading effect and improving the lighting within a staircase’s radius.