You could do pendants hung at different levels .

Do you have a photo of the space? We have one light at the top of the stairs, but our ceiling is not straight so no space for anything else. As for the amount of light, it's plenty.

@printesa It’s under construction so it looks terrible. I’ll post what I have so you get an idea. Keep in mind there will be drywall on all of the walls including the one straight ahead.

What about a couple of wall sconces as you go down the stairs?

This is what I envision it will look like if I decide to put up a single pendant light.

@Rower 76 I thought about that. Would that still go with the small wall lights placed above the stairs? Would we only have sconces instead of any overhead lights?

Here’s the stair lights we plan to install right above the steps.

@jenwinston73 The stairs to our basement is in the mudroom of our new construction. Ours is more open from the mudroom, we have a railing to one side that you can see down the stairs into the basement. We are most likely doing recessed lights in the mudroom ceiling, but thinking of doing the sconces down the stairs to provide a little extra light that the recessed may not provide.

In your case, since seeing your photos, I really like your thought of doing a cool pendant light like what you posted AND the stair lights. btw....I love that pendant that you posted!!

@Owen Homes - thanks for your input and the photos!That makes me feel like we are leaning in the right direction then. So we actually are planning on putting one recessed light at the bottom landing because that probably won’t be lit up by a pendant light. So no need for a recessed light at the top, right? As for placement of the pendant, should that go midway between top step and the wall?

@Rower 76 - Thanks! I love that pendant light too. Of course it was hand made, but we are leaning towards the orb style pendant light. My thought it, since we can see this from our main hallway, it might be cool to have a nice accent piece. I was also uncertain of what to do with that blank wall there. So putting in a pendant will take care of that also.

Here’s a pendant light we were looking at. It’s 23” diameter.

I think one pendant as in your photo would look great. You could add the stair lights as well. I wouldn't add sconces as well.

Just to clarify, the wall ends at the end of the stairwell correct? If so, I would center it from the top step to the wall, yes. I would say no to a recessed at the top. I also really like the light option! Be careful with an Edison bulb light though because those don't put off as much light. You'll want something to really brighten up the space - also, make sure to go with a light paint color too.

Ok so now with everyone’s recommendations, it seems like the best lighting config might be this:

1. One pendant light
2. Several recessed step lights
3. One recessed/can light at bottom landing.

Remaining questions:

1. Placement of pendant? I’m thinking midway between top step and the wall, which is 10 feet away (so approx 5 ft is midway). Is that the best option? Or different placement?

2. Do I put a canned light at the top? I don’t think from a lighting/safety standpoint it is necessary. But would the lighting look uneven if nothing is on top?

@Owen Homes - ok, no recessed lighting on top! Great. Yes, I believe the wall is inline with the bottom landing. I’ll have to confirm tonight. There is a support beam that is horizontal across the steps. It’s about 2 ft in front of the wall. But we plan on painting it white so that it disappears. The walls will be painted SW Pure White. So it should be nice and bright! Do you recommend a particular lightbulb that might go well with the light fixture I pictured below? We were just going to get a brighter Edison light bulb, but should we try something different?

Your plan sounds good. I wouldn't add a can light at the top..I think the pendant placed in the middle would be enough.

The light itself could dictate which options you have for bulbs. Are you purchasing independently or are you working with a lighting vendor? If independently, I would reach out to the manufacturer or Lamps Plus and see if they are able to advise. Best of luck! Make sure to upload photos when it's all done!

While the pendant light may look lovely, keep in mind that changing bulbs may be queasy-making if you're not a pro.

This Old House.com

As well, be aware that any direct or even indirect light so close to the walls will show up flaws. Be very attentive to the finish and paint in that area.

Worthy, thanks for that double ladder graphic! Now I know how to reach the stair walls for painting.

I've seen cool LED lights going down along each side.

I have a similar basement stairway that was always too dark because it came with only a semi recessed light at the bottom. I finally had a pendant light with three bulbs installed 4 1/2 feet from the top wall. ( My stair turns a corner at the top.) Bear in mind that you will have to be able to reach this fixture to dust it and occasionally change a bulb. I would suggest keeping the design simple so that you can get the cobwebs off it without too much trouble!

Dusting is not a problem..there are long dusting brushes...changing a bulb is a problem, but hopefully that doesn't need to be done too often

LED bulbs are great for hard to reach locations as replacements will be several years apart. I have never seen a staircase with too much lighting but have seen many caves. The individual step lights are quite nice as you still have access to run the electric. Otherwise, I would suggest LED rope lighting run along the top of the stair trim. Personally, I would add a small recessed can 12 to 24 inches out from the top of the stairs. The 3 inch cans are cheap and inobtrusive and won't be difficult to add at this stage.

You are overthinking it. Go pendant and warm led lighting along the handrail. Your space is not that large and adding lights on the risers will take away from the pendant.

@christian - we actually already have the lights for the floor risers and had planned on putting those in. The pendant was an after thought. Hopefully it won’t look like too much.

Ok, so just one more question. It was suggested multiple times that we hang the pendant light midway from top step to back wall. I think I agree but I just want to confirm that this is the best option. We have a support beam attached to the ceiling that is about 2 feet from wall (pictured below). We are going to drywall it and paint it the color of the ceiling (white)... Is there any reason that hanging the pendant light from this beam wouldn’t be a better option? I just want to confirm before our electrician comes tomorrow.

wouldn't the pendant be too close to the door and come too low if it were hanging from the beam?

Actually what’s pictured 2 ft behind the beam is going to be a wall. I’m standing at the door (about 8 ft from the beam) taking the photo. Sorry, it’s hard to envision without the drywall...unfortunately this is when I need to decide on all of the electrical.

I see now..I looked at the older photos and saw what you meant. I still think the pendant should be halfway so the light looks more uniform in the space.

I’ll repost this photo taken from the stairs. It may be easier to see what I’m talking about. The beam is sitting 2 ft in front of what looks like a door covered with plywood. That was a door to an old closet that we removed to open up the ceiling. It will be closed up and covered with drywall. Again, the question is, do I hang the light from the beam (2 ft from back wall) or centered between top step and back wall. I’m thinking of centering it but want to make sure before the electrician comes out.

I would center it

I would put it somewhere in the middle at whichever spot the electrician thinks is appropriate. I figure if there is a question which does not have an obvious answer to me, I don't need to agonize over the choice. For those decisions, I tend to defer to the professional doing the job as I figure they have lots more knowledge about the subject matter than I will ever have. Of course, that requires a certain trust in the person doing the work but if I don't have that trust, I don't really want them doing the work.

Ok, i purchased a 23 inch orb pendant light for the stairs. Luckily I have 60 days to return it. It looks way too big! Our stairs are 38 inches. Here’s a photo. The drywall is not quite finished but gives us a better feel for the space. I’m using a flashlight to light the space. Thoughts on this? Would a smaller orb work better? Or is an orb all wrong for the space? I’m at a loss! Just a note that, although the space may not be huge, it does look must more narrow in photos than it does in person (in my opinion).

Orb is way too much....nice recessed or flush mount instead. The opening is not dramatic or open enough for that. You have great taste, but lack space....imo.

@Christian Decor - I had the stairs wired with a standard jbox, so I'm not sure that recessed lighting would work at this point. Can you suggest a flush mount that might look good in a stairs?

Here's the same light but just 15 inches. https://www.lampsplus.com/products/uttermost-rondure-15-inch-wide-bronze-and-brass-orb-pendant__8p359.html

You could try the 15". The current one is too large..

Should I go with something that is longer than it is wide, like the one in this photo?

The width should not be more the 1/3 of the width of the space..so the 15 is ok. The one in your photo looks good..

IDK because I didn't read everything, but how on earth did you come to the conclusion that a pendant light would be better than recessed lighting here? also in-wall step lights? If you want it to look like a pro job install 2 can lights and possibly for some cool additional lighting some step lights...hanging light is totally wrong here.

@RL Relocation LLC - Thanks for your input but you’re too late. We’ve already had the electrician out. I have been asking around getting input from pros and non pros and the consensus was that with such a large wall of nothing, it would look nice to have a pendant light. I’ve seen examples similar to mine. Here are some photos of stairwells that look like mine. We are considering putting something like shiplap on the wall and are now looking at smaller lantern style pendants (approx 15” width).

Here are a couple of renderings of what it might look like with the lantern we bought. We may still put shiplap on the walls.

It's going to look really nice

The scale of the one in your examples seem to be much smaller than the one you bought, Im sorry I chimed in late but I hope it look amazing for you!

@ RL Relocation LLC - No problem. You are right, the orb pendant that I bought initially was entirely too big! It was 23" and made my stairs look VERY narrow. I thought it would look good... but was wrong. The stairs are not wide by any means, but they are not as narrow as they appeared with that photo. I still think when I stand at the top of the stairs and look down, it appears wider in person than it does in photos. I'm not able to get a good angle to make it look wider. Anyway, I've returned that orb and purchased a 12" lantern (saving about $300 also, I might add!) and just from holding it up, I think it will look great. The renderings I've posted are of other lanterns for sale on HOUZZ, and are not exactly to scale... but just to get a feel for what it will look like, I used that feature that allows you to "show in your room".

This project has come to a pause with the holidays, but hopefully we can get the drywall, paint, and lighting finished up within a couple of weeks.

That scale will be much better! IMO is that it looks looming lol, but it could turn out to be amazing so Im excited for you cant wait to see!

Can you give an update of how your lighting turned out? I am looking to do the same for my stairs and would like to see what it looks like and whether you are happy with the results.