Wall Spotlights

Where to use wall spotlights

Every spotlight here fixes to the wall, which makes it the answer when a room has no ceiling point in the right place, or when you want light pointed at something rather than spread across the room. Wall mounted spotlights direct their light, so they pick out a task or a feature and leave the rest of the room softer.

We stock many for kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, hallways and studies. Most suit a kitchen, where a spotlight above open shelves or a run of worktop puts light where you chop and read recipes. In a hallway, a row of them along one wall lights the way and brings out pictures as you pass. A few can be fixed to a ceiling instead, if that suits the room better.

Adjustable and two-light wall spotlights

Many of our wall spotlights have an adjustable head. Where the name says adjustable, the head tilts or turns, so you can aim the beam at a picture, down onto a desk or along a shelf, and move it again when the furniture moves. Where the name doesn't say so, check the product page before you count on aiming it.

Many are two-light designs, with two lights on a single fitting. They suit a wider picture, a long shelf or the wall above a bedhead, where one beam would leave the edges in shadow, and there is still only a single fitting to wire in.

Wall spotlights for pictures and reading

To light a picture, fix the spotlight above or to one side and aim it so the beam crosses the frame at an angle. Pointed straight on, it tends to bounce glare off the glass. An adjustable head makes it easy to settle the beam once the picture is hung, and a warm white is kind to paintings and prints.

For reading, angle the head down onto the book rather than out into the room. Beside a bed, fix the spotlight a little above your shoulder as you sit up against the pillows. A head that adjusts helps here, as you can turn the light onto the page and away from a sleeping partner. We stock many suited to bedrooms and studies. A few have a USB socket, so the same fitting charges your phone at the bedside.

Wiring and switching a wall spotlight

Every wall spotlight we stock is wired into the mains by an electrician and runs from a wall switch. None is a plug-in, so there is no cable trailing down the wall to a socket. A few have their own pull-cord switch on the fitting.

If there is no wiring where you want the light, your electrician can run a cable to that point and add a switch, and that is easiest before you paint or paper. Fitting a pair either side of a bed? Ask for a switch within reach on both sides, so neither of you has to get up to turn their light off.

Bulbs and dimming for wall spotlights

Most wall spot lights here take a GU10 bulb, the push-and-twist spotlight cap that is easy to find. Many have the LED built in instead, so there is no bulb to buy or change. Some take an E14, a small screw cap. A few take a G9 capsule. A few take the larger E27 screw cap. Check the product page for the cap and whether a bulb is supplied before you order.

If a spotlight takes a GU10, the bulb you buy sets the colour of the light: 2700K or 3000K gives a warm white for a living room or bedroom, and 4000K a cooler white for a kitchen or desk. Where the LED is built in, the colour comes with the fitting, so check its colour temperature on the product page. Many are dimmable. A dimmable spotlight needs a dimmer switch suited to LED and, where it takes a bulb, a dimmable bulb as well.

Wall spotlights and bathrooms

A bathroom needs a fitting rated for splashing water, so check the IP rating on the product page before you buy. Most wall spotlights we stock are IP20, which means they are for dry rooms only, away from a basin, bath or shower. If you are planning a bathroom, ask your electrician where in the room a fitting can safely go and what rating it needs there, as the rules depend on how close it sits to water.

Finishes for wall spotlights

Most of our wall spotlights come in black, and most have a matt finish, which looks soft and calm against a painted wall. We stock many in white, which fades into a pale wall and leaves the light to do the work, and many in brass for a warmer glint. Many are two-tone, such as black with brass. Some have an antique finish, for an aged look that suits a period home. Some are made with travertine, a natural stone with a gentle, earthy feel.