Need opinion on lighting trends - foyer/entryway

[chassis]

Want to get a reading from the style police on lighting. We have a roughly 12 x 12 front foyer/entryway, and there is one hanging lantern/pendant fixture in the ceiling. It's probably 20 years old, not our style and needs to be replaced. Ceiling height is about 8.5 feet. House was built in 1950, so overall our house and the neighborhood has a somewhat traditional appearance.

I was thinking to eliminate the pendant and install four 4" recessed lights. It gives the feeling of more space, since you don't have something dangling from the ceiling at you. Also the 4 lights give a more evenly distributed light, with more total wattage than the old 2 bulb fixture.

Question is - what do the style police think about this? Is recessed lighting in a foyer tacky or is it in keeping with current lighting styles?

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[DonB]

Just inside our front door we have a chandelier thingy. Further in there is an angled opening that drops to a sunken living room. Above that break there are a couple of recessed floodlamps. Ceilings are vaulted. I'm not a style cop but I'm pleased with our arrangement and I would think whatever turns your crank is reaonable and proper.

Don

[Theold--scottyb]

Not sure if I have been in houses with recessed lighting in the entry.. I would go with a low profile type chandelier. Maybe a 3 or 4 light

[bbcamp]

You could do both, use a smaller hanging light to decorate the entry (I believe it will need something) and recessed cans for uniform lighting.

[chassis]

Thanks for the input folks. I'm sort of leaning toward Bob's idea, which is to supplement the lighting by adding 4 recessed lights, but keeping the small chandelier.

[Angie]

My favorite lighting source is www.rejuvenation.com for period lighting. They even have way cool stuff from the 50's. It's strictly mail order but we've ordered from them a few times. Everything looks as good as it does in the pictures at least, install fine, etc. They're not the cheapest but you get a great bang for the buck. People frequently comment on the fixtures we've purchased thru them. In an entryway, if it's the first thing people see, make a statement. (I plug these guys whenever I can - we have been so happy with their stuff).

[flatfloor]

Will, in our neighbor hood flaming torches are de rigeur. Simply soak some rags in pitch, wrap around old tree branches and insert in wall mounted sconces. No wiring, no utility bills. :twitch:

[Tool Guy - Kg]

....and no house.






Well, you'll still have the ashes. :yeah:

[chassis]

Does Homer's carry pitch? Looking for job-size quantities.

[jdm]

Home Despot probably has pitch somewhere in there but no one will be able to find out unless you already have the SKU. I do know that they carry the oakum for cast iron hub-style connections, but not the lead that is necessary to actually make the seal. The guy in the plumbing aisle (I actually found one who used to be a plumber) couldn't explain that either.

As for the foyer, unless you are into the very modern minimalist look, go with either a close-to-the ceiling fixture or a small hanging one surrounded by the recessed lights. The same configuration works well in a dining room, too. If the cans are on a separate dimmer from the chandelier, you can use the cans for most of the light and let the chandelier provide the sparkle.