What’s the Best Lighting for Vaulted Ceilings?
Vaulted ceilings are a beautiful feature in a home, but with such a grand space you want to make sure it’s properly lit. You can really show off the dramatic height with gorgeous lighting! There are a few different combinations for the best lighting and I will share them with you today.
What’s the Best Lighting for Vaulted Ceilings?
The best lighting for vaulted ceilings are a combination of can lights and pendants or chandeliers. With tall ceilings, you want to make sure it feels lit enough while adding some drama with beautiful center chandelier.
There are 4 different types of lighting for vaulted ceilings:
Recessed Lighting
Pendants and Chandeliers
Skylights
Sconces and Accent Lights
Adding accent or wall lighting is another way to incorporate lighting for a nice effect.
Keep reading to learn about the different lighting options and how they will work for your vaulted ceilings.
Different Types of Lighting for Vaulted Ceilings
There are 4 different types of lighting we will cover, but there is no right or wrong choice. Usually a combination of a few types will do just fine in your home. It really comes down to your personal preference and what makes most sense for you!
Recessed Lighting
Recessed lighting or can lights are a small, round light that is installed in a hollow spot in the ceiling. The light shines downward in a concentrated spot and are great for pinpointing exactly where you want light directed. Usually about 4-6” in diameter, they are a very discreet and virtually unnoticeable light source without being too distracting.
We recommend installing can lights about 4-6’ apart so an even flow or lighting. They are a relatively easy and affordable lighting solution for your home. Now they have several LED options that come with adjustable light colors for a custom look.
Can lights can be installed on the sloped parts of the vaulted ceiling in order to adequately fill the room with light.
Pendants and Chandeliers
Pendant lights are an aesthetically pleasing source for light with all sorts of different designs to choose from. They are pretty and add some personality to your room. You can add a row of pendants down your vaulted ceiling for a big statement.
See how in the image above they got creative with the beam and mounted pendants right on it for symmetry above the island.
Skylights
Skylights are a natural way to light up a room. They provide natural sunlight and can be energy efficient when providing heat from the sun. On the other hand, they can also make your room very warm during the summertime. Skylights require cutting a hole in your room so it’s best to hire a licensed professional to complete the job.
Sconces and Accent Lighting
Wall sconces and accent lighting are great accessories to the room while providing additional more intimate lighting. They are usually smaller watts so they don’t fill your entire room with light, but they are a beautiful option to add accent lighting for evenings. Adding wall sconces to highlight artwork or mounted above a chair for reading is not only practical but pretty.
In the picture above you can see how they used sconces as task lighting. They play an important role in the kitchen’s design and add so much character.
You definitely want to use this in combination with recessed lighting and pendants to have enough light during the day otherwise your room will likely feel dim at all times.
There is a huge array of sconces and accent lights to choose from for all different design styles.
How to Hang Lighting on Vaulted Ceilings?
Unless you are familiar with electrical wiring, you will likely want to hire a professional so it’s done right and to avoid any fire hazards. If wiring is already in the ceiling, it’s fairly simple to add can lights or cut holes in the ceiling for pendants.
For pendants, you may need a ceiling adjuster to account for the slope in the ceiling so the light fixture can hang straight down. Oftentimes they come with lighting as well if you specify it.
Overall, there are several lighting options for vaulted ceilings. A combination of them will beautifully light up your space and provide personality to your room. There are so many different kinds of styles of fixtures you are sure to find one to fit your room’s design.
In our home we have a fan light in the center of our room along with a downlight. To be honest, this room lacks overhead lighting so we will be switching the fan eventually to a prettier light fixture with higher wattage.
There is a whole lot that goes into wattage and calculating the right amount of lumens for a room. In this blog post I touch on it and how to choose the right light fixture and style for your home. Definitely worth reading if you want to go in more detail about lighting.
Personally, I think lighting is so important to a room’s design and feel. It’s like earrings to an outfit, it totally makes a statement! Don’t be afraid to be fun or bold in your lighting choices.
