New Lighting For The Upstairs Hall & This Lighting Has A Surprise, Unique Feature

When I had an electrician here on Friday to add recessed lighting to the storage/utility room in the basement, I also had him change out the three lights in my upstairs hallway to recessed lighting, recessed lighting with a special, built-in feature. This was the lighting that was in the long, upstairs hallway.

Replacing Dome Lights with Recessed Lighting

 

Two of the three lights are visible in this previous photo from when I was moving an old chest from one room to another.

 

And this is the new recessed lighting. I have plans to have this hall painted sometime this year, so I really wanted to get the lighting updated prior to that. I actually had to lighten this photo a little because my camera is not picking up just how much brighter it is in real life. The new lighting is definitely a lot brighter in person than the old lighting.

New Recessed Lighting for Upstairs Hall

 

The new lighting makes the hall feel bigger, too. Lighting is so hard to photograph, it freaks out the camera, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the hall is a lot brighter. lol

Recessed Lighting for Hallway

 

So about that special feature–this lighting is designed with a built-in night light that’s easily activated by turning the light off and then flipping it back on just a few short seconds later.

 

I have two lamps on chests here in my upstairs hallway, one at this end as seen below, and one at the other end of the hall as seen in the previous photo. I turn those on every evening, love soft lamplight in the evening time. I do like how the nightlights look, too. (These recessed lights with a built-in nightlight are available here: Recessed Lighting with Night Light.)

Recessed Lighting with Built in Night Lights, Lighting Update

NIGHT LIGHT MODE

 

Here’s the main reason I wanted to get the lighting changed out now before any painting takes place in this hall. I was pretty sure there would be a ring left where the old lighting used to be, and there definitely was.

Ring left by old lights

 

Using a Magic Eraser sponge, I was able to greatly lighten it, so much so that you don’t even notice it unless you take a photo and zoom in as I did for this photo. Otherwise, you don’t notice it at all. Love those Magic Erasers!

Recessed Lighting for hall

 

I’m really pleased with how much brighter this windowless hallway is now with the new lights. I’m still trying to decide what color to paint this upstairs hall. I definitely want to go with something neutral and light. I will probably end up going with some shade of white that will contrast with white trim.

Recessed Lighting, Lighting Update for Hall

 

I love how unobtrusive recessed lighting is in a room. I think it’s a great choice for hallways. I rarely use overhead lighting since I prefer lamp light, but I like having it available when I do need it–like when looking through the linen closet for summer bedding as I was earlier today. Are you a fan of recessed lighting in hallways?

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Comments

  1. Michele M. says

    Looks GREAT, Susan. Yes I am a big fan of recessed lighting in hallways. That’s what we have downstairs and upstairs halls. That nightlight feature on yours is just so cool!

    • Thanks, Michele! They seemed to really work well in hallways. I still need to add one more to my stairway going down…on the to-do list. 🙂

  2. They really make a difference in brightness and looks simple but sleek. I had looked at something similar a few months ago but to change the light level required pulling the light out. For the old dome lights, did they have one or two bulbs? I want to replace the one on our stair landing but not sure one recessed is enough. Thoughts?

    • I think they are all designed that way and what you do is you set them to the light that you want when it’s being installed. My garage lights had 3 settings…one was yellowish, another had a steely, cold blue hue and the third setting was a bright white which was what I chose when they were being installed.
      The lights in the basement that I just had installed had 5 color settings. This electrician who installed them knows me so well that he chose the one he thought I would like and he was right. He did the same when he installed the upstairs hall lights. You just choose what “color/hue” that you like and that’s what it stays at unless you change your mind at some point, which would be unlikely.
      These here in the hallway are a bit different because they have a nightlight built in that you can easily activate whenever you wish. It shines out around the top near the ceiling and not downward as it does normally. I’m not sure how much I’ll use the nightlight feature since I mostly prefer lamplight in the evening, but I do like having it available.
      I don’t remember now how many lights were inside the domed ones. I used them so little, I don’t think they ever had a blown bulb, so I don’t remember now.

  3. I had the same thing done a few months ago. When I first removed to my small cottage, it had the same type of lighting over the sink. There was also a light in the center of the kitchen but no lights over the long counter which is the only place to use for meal prep, eating, etc. When I worked at that long counter, my back was to the lights; very inconvenient. I had a handyman put two canned ceiling lights over the counter and within a few days, decided I liked them so much, I asked him to return and put in canned lights in the center of the room and over the sink. The room is so much brighter now and I no longer work in a shadow! It was a good decision.

    • Oh, Nicki, I know exactly what you were going through. For many years, the only lighting I had in my kitchen was a big ugly light in the center of the room and no matter where I stood to work at the counter, I always, always blocked the light. So I felt like I was always working in shadows. It was such a game changer when I changed out that one overhead light for 4 recessed lights and added under-cabinet lighting. It’s amazing how lighting can completely transform a room, plus make life so much easier, especially in a kitchen! Congrats on your new lighting!

  4. Elena M. says

    I used to have those exact same light fixtures in my hallway, also in brass. When we did some renovations in 2013 we also replaced them with recessed lights. They make the hallway not only brighter, but it looks much more modern and “cleaned lined”. When did you change the blue chest to the hall? Isn’t that the one you had in your blue family room? I guess we all enjoy playing “musical chairs” with furniture, it doesn’t cost anything to try things out in new places, we can easily put them back, right?

    • It really does feel more clean-lined.
      I think I moved the chest there when I added three display cabinets to the guest room where a trunk used to be. The trunk was moved to the bonus room and it’s now where the chest used to be, which isn’t ideal, but I hate to get rid of it. I don’t normally move furniture around but I had to when I added the cabinets.

  5. A great choice! Modernizes your hallway.

  6. I love the lighting! Several years ago we added 2 lights in our hallway which had no lights at all!!! Why on earth did it not have any lights??? Also added bathroom central lights since they only had over the mirror lights! Who does that? Lighting makes a world of difference!! We are celebrating our 55th wedding anniversary this week and I had 4 recessed lights in Mike’s office as a surprise. gift. It only had a light with a ceiling fan in there. He used lamp lights… Game changer!

  7. I have recessed lighting all over my house even with other light fixtures like chandeliers and ceiling fans. That’s the way most construction is in Florida.

  8. Loved the look of the recessed lighting! I’m calling my electrician for some estimates before I have my painter refresh my hall. She will be here for my bedroom next month. I’m still fooling with the idea of removing my toile wallpaper but I love the old traditional look and it’s only on one wall. Decorating can be a challenge!

  9. What cool lights Susan, I bet it really makes a difference in the hallway! I am really loving that they are a night light as well, how cool is that?! Once you have the hall painted, I bet it will look even brighter. A great upgrade for sure! Hugs, Brenda

  10. Very neat lights…I love the night light idea !

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