What will be in the foyer? How important is it for a specific type of illumination?

We have a long hallway (almost 30' I think) off our foyer that leads to the bedrooms. It collects natural light from various points along the way so never needs to be lit in daylight hours. For night use we want to be able to traverse the length safely, not make it a runway! - so we have 2 schoolhouse ceiling lights with LED 40w equivalent and find that more than ample. I am certain I'd never bother with dimmers. Ceilings are 9'.

@Virgil - Here's a cut of the hall way area. Foyer will have a pendant light which I'm considering duplicating for a total of 3 on dimmers that leads to the great room.

I've given though to hanging 2 or maybe 3 pendant lights on a dimmer [...]

Do it, assuming that the architectural style of your house is consistent with the lights. :-)

My newly-built tract home came with recessed cans everywhere (which I absolutely despise), and I fully intend to convert them to pendants/mini pendants above the kitchen sink and in both 9' tall hallways. Got pre-approval from my husband, so now all I have to do is find lights I like.

With 10' ceilings, I wouldn't even hesitate for a single second, to do pendants!

Thanks ODD! I've got a LOT of recessed cans. Easily over 100 between all 3 floors so when ever I get the chance to do something else, darn sure doing it. I've got 40 LED strip lights on the ground floor between the garage and storage area. Thanks again !

100 cans? Are you lighting up a baseball stadium?

I just counted and I have 41 cans and 20 hanging fixtures. That's on 2 floors and it includes the 8 cans and one light fixture in my studio, which is the only room that's lit up like a stadium.

If you have that many cans, it either means you don't have enough natural light coming into the house, or you need to pare down your lighting. Your house isn't that much larger than mine.

Plenty of natural light in the main living areas. That also includes 24 cans for the 3 patios. I just counted 55 for the 2nd and 3rd floors which consist of the main living area on the second floor and the 3rd floor which has my office and an additional bedroom upstairs.

These days, builders (and some remodelers), put can lights everywhere - living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms. I like them in kitchens and bathrooms and in some halls, otherwise I think they look horrible and very commercial.

Having said that, I used to have two lovely solid, polished brass/glass lanterns in my very dark, narrow back hallway My late husband kept the glass clean in them as he was 6'2" tall. I do NOT want any help in my house up on ladders! After he died, the glass looked awful - I climbed up on the ladder and cleaned them, but then it got so that this was not a great idea for me to be doing, either. So, I had these lovely fixtures removed, sold them at a consignment shop, and had can lights installed. It actually looks better as the hall was so very narrow (less than 4' wide). I've learned that in spaces such as this, "less is more".

That also includes 24 cans for the 3 patios.

How big is your patio that you need 8 cans for each? I'm sorry but it sounds like overkill.

I didn't count my lanai, but if you include that, I have 3 cans there. The space is 9' deep x 31' long.

Patios are all 12 x 20 and from what I’ve read with 10’ ceiling they should be spaced 5’ apart.

If it was my house, I'd: 1) Illuminate the stairs with 2-3 down lights from the ceiling above to wash the stairs, then; 2) I'd think about the experience I wanted to create in the 4.5' corridor from the entry to the family room beyond. I like treating spaces like this as if they are galleries with displayed artwork on the walls. Thus, I'd create a series of wall washer fixtures to illuminate the walls and let the spill light be sufficient for comfortable movement. And I'd use dimmers.

No ceiling mounted fixtures (other than above), and no pendants to interrupt the flow of space.

Thanks Virgil, I'm actually looking at the wall washer lights now.

If anyone has any favorite sites for wall waher lights chime in please. Looking for olde bronze

cpartist

100 cans? Are you lighting up a baseball stadium?

You'd have a fit if I disclosed how many cans are installed and being installed in our build (electricians are on the home stretch) however everything is very scientifically designed for layout, location and use, ceiling height, pathways/walkways/corridors, 3/4 way switching, dimmers etc. Hate dark homes, but love the ability to have whole house automation with programmable lighting and intensity in all areas especially when the sun goes down.

Foyer is 40'x13-6' (12' ceiling) leading to the great room has provision for 1 chandelier, 9 cans and 5 wall sconces. Cans are three across and the same theme continues into the great room though each set is individually controlled.

I used sconces to light the upstairs hallways in our house. We get a lot of natural light, so they are only used after sunset. I think they create a very nice ambiance. Of course, you'd want them to be in the style that best compliments the design of your home.

You actually have three lighting issues. Display lighting for artwork in the hallway and the on the stairs, safety on the stairs and decorative lights for ambiance. I like Virgil's approach with the possible addition of a wall washer or two for the large wall along the stairs and a wall sconce or pendant in the hallway for decoration and ambiance.

Display lighting for artwork: We had so much artwork, historical, seascapes and some modern in our home in NJ, it's all crated and lying packed. The new home with its long, wide corridors and tall ceilings will be ideal for artwork display; alas DW will have none of it, says she wants no artwork in the new home however I'm free to put it all in my media room, ouch!, I can imagine artwork flying off wall hooks when I turn up Mettalica, Led Zeppelin or any loud rock music :). Hoping she changes her mind looking at empty walls.