Creative Ways To Light Your Stairs
October 14, 2020
It seems obvious really - stairs can be dangerous things, even for grown adults! But often very little thought goes into lighting them, and whilst there are many tried and true solutions, there's a few key things to keep in mind when thinking about lighting stairs to create the best result.
In the commercial world, staircases have their own standards for minimum light levels for safety, but in our homes, there are no rules. So use the following information to arm yourself, and make sure you end up with a stunning (and safe!) staircase in your home.
To make stairs easy to see, we need to create contrast.
I was speaking recently with a colleague who described a pure white space - white walls, ceiling and pure white stairs - that had a coloured lighting display filling the area with light. Unintentionally the designers of the space had created an environment where no one could get their bearings. As an art installation it would be dramatic, controversial and thought provoking. As a pathway from one level of a building to the next, it was a disaster! Everyone got stuck on the stairs. They couldn't perceive the space, couldn't see where to put their feet and had no confidence to move.
Whilst it's highly unlikely that any of our homes would end up so stark, it is a great example of how dramatically light can affect our confidence to walk forward through a space.
CONTRAST - is this context, which is "light and shade" meaning - parts of an area that are brighter, and then the shadowed areas give us a sense of depth and space which allow our brains to navigate the complex task of walking up or down stairs.
It's very important when you're adding light to a staircase that you take GLARE from that light into account. Finding yourself blinded by a light as you walk upstairs is almost as disconcerting as finding yourself in a space like the one described above. In fact - if you made it to the Turrell exhibition in Canberra a few years back, you know exactly how confusing a space with no contrast can be.
So - light ideally goes DOWN to the treads.
OR - it can come up from behind them - creating a shadow to walk on instead of a lit surface - the effect is the same for our brains, we can see the contrast and move with security.
Lets start with down.
We've all experienced "step-lights" - those little lights on the wall that throw light down onto the steps. They can be every tread, every 3 treads - depending on the specific light fitting selected, they can be placed just about anywhere. There's a few different styles - and we highly recommend trying to find lights that have glare control - and by that I mean, if you can look directly at the light when you look at the wall, it'll probably be glarey and distracting.
Handrails are a great place to hide light, and with the prevalence of linear LED lighting, this can be accomplished in any number of ways. Important to aim for uniform light coming from a strip - as you will see it from some angles, and the dots just detract from the overall effect.
There are handrails on the market - usually for outside - with little "puk" lights in them - a few of these are actually made in Australia, and that is a great idea for outside where you want safety light, but perhaps not to draw too much attention.
Running linear light through every tread can look amazing! but be careful you don't end up with stairs that look like they belong in a Casino! This comes down to making sure you use a good quality linear light, with an excellent diffuser, consistent light across the length (that means no dots!) and something that isn't too bright. You want to see the steps - not be blinded by them.
If you're going to run light up a stringer, the same principle applies - and it's great if you can use an angled light, so that you're getting more light towards the wall, and less directly into your eyes.
If you want to get really dramatic with your stair lighting, there are lots of different control technologies available that can enable you to set brightness levels for different times of the day - and if you want to go all out, you can create dramatic coloured lighting displays that can tell a story with light, and totally transform the mood of your home with the simple selection of a program. Just remember to make sure it's not all perfectly white, or you'll end up with something that looks amazing - but makes it nearly impossible to move from one level of your home to the next!
Simple controls can make a big difference too. We're big fans of using motion detectors for stair lighting. Stairs are somewhere where you always need your light, and it also helps with ensuring you have an energy efficient installation as the lights aren't on if no-one is in the area. We also always make sure there's an over-ride switch. If the lighting to your stairs is a feature of your home, you want to be able to turn them on and enjoy them sometimes.
LED technology, used well, is very energy efficient. So if you've decided to go with step lights, the overall installation might only use 20W - which over a year, on 24 hours a day 7 days a week might cost as little as $40 - when you're considering the safety of your family moving between levels in your home, it is also reasonable to consider leaving those lights on all the time.
So there you have it, a few things to consider, and plenty of inspiration for adding light to your stairs that is not only safe to use, but also a beautiful feature in your home.
