The entry is the first part of a home anyone sees, and usually the last part anyone thinks about. In most Australian houses it gets a single plastic bulkhead outside and one ceiling light inside, and both do the job badly. Wall lights fix this, and they do it without a renovation. Browse hallway and entryway wall lights or, for exposed positions, outdoor wall lights.
Here is how to plan lighting for a front door and entry hall, including heights, brightness, weather ratings and the mistakes that turn up most often.
A note on the numbers below: heights and sizes are approximate guides based on what works in typical Australian homes. Every entry is different. Please treat them as starting points and double-check anything specific with your electrician before you commit.
What entry lighting actually needs to do
Four jobs, roughly in order of importance:
- Safety. People need to see the step, the threshold and the keyhole.
- Recognition. You want to see who is at the door, and visitors want to find your house number.
- Security. A lit entry is a far less appealing entry for anyone who should not be there.
- Welcome. Warm light on a front door reads as a home someone looks after.
A single overhead fitting struggles with the first two. Light coming straight down casts shadows into eye sockets and leaves the door handle dark. Light coming from the side, at roughly face height, handles both properly.
Outside the door: placement and heights
One light or two?
If your door sits centrally with clear wall on both sides, a matched pair looks deliberate and spreads light evenly across the doorway. If the door is off to one side, or there is a window or meter box in the way, one light is the better call. Put it on the handle side rather than the hinge side, so the light lands where your hands are.
Mounting height
As an approximate guide, aim for the centre of the fitting at about 1.6 to 1.7 metres above the porch or landing floor. That is roughly eye level for most adults, so light falls on faces instead of the tops of heads. The same rough height works whether you are fitting one light or a pair. Adjust to suit your own door and step arrangement. Our mounting height guide covers the rest of the house.
Keep the fitting somewhere around 250 to 350mm out from the door frame. Any closer and it tends to look cramped. Any further and the light drifts away from the door.
Scale
Entry lights are viewed from the street, so they can be larger than you first assume. As a rough rule of thumb, the fitting should be about a quarter to a third the height of the door. For a standard 2040mm door that works out to roughly 300 to 450mm tall for a single light, or a little smaller for each half of a pair. Worth measuring against your own door rather than taking the figure as fixed.
Weather ratings: what you actually need
This is where money gets wasted in both directions, on fittings that are underspecified and on fittings that are overkill.
- Covered porch, well set back under an eave: IP44 is generally sufficient. The fitting sees humidity and the occasional splash, not driving rain.
- Exposed wall, no eave, coastal or windy site: look for IP65, and pay as much attention to the material as to the number.
These are general guidelines rather than rules. If you are unsure how exposed your entry really is, your electrician will give you a firmer answer on site.
Salt air is the real test in Australia. Within a few kilometres of the coast, powder-coated steel and thin plating tend to bubble and pit within a couple of years. Marine-grade stainless, solid brass and copper generally age instead of failing. If you want the numbers explained properly, our guide to IP ratings covers it, and the outdoor wall light guide covers materials.
A sealed fitting like The Orb, with tempered glass, a cast aluminium body and an integrated LED, is the kind of thing built for an exposed entry rather than a sheltered one. Email us for its exact rating if your electrician needs the figure in writing.
Brightness and colour
Entries do not need a lot of light. They need the right light. For a front door, somewhere around 400 to 700 lumens per fitting is usually plenty, though this depends on how dark your street is and how much the surrounding surfaces reflect. Go much brighter and you risk glare, which makes it harder to see rather than easier, because your eyes adjust to the bright source and everything around it goes black.
Stick to warm white, around 2700K, for anything on the front of a house. Cool white reads as a car park. Our note on warm white vs cool white goes into where each one belongs.
Two features are worth paying for outside. A photocell means the light comes on at dusk without you thinking about it. A motion sensor is useful if the entry doubles as your main path from the driveway. Colour-changing features are rarely worth the money here.
Inside the entry hall
Most entry halls are narrow, which is exactly why wall lights beat a ceiling fitting. A downlight in a 1.2 metre wide hallway lights the floor and very little else. A pair of sconces on the long wall lights the walls, and lit walls make a narrow space feel wider.
- Mount at approximately 1.5 to 1.6 metres to the centre of the fitting, slightly lower than outside because you stand closer to the wall.
- Space them roughly 1.5 to 2 metres apart. Two well-placed sconces usually beat four crowded ones.
- Put one near the console table or key drop, so light lands where you actually fumble.
- Choose a fitting that throws light up and down, or one with a diffused shade, so you are not staring into a bare globe at close range.
Ceramic and stone suit entries well, because the texture of the material reads clearly at close viewing distance. A cylinder like The Volta washes the wall in both directions and hides the globe completely. More options in hallway and entryway wall lights.
Five mistakes worth avoiding
- Mounting too high. Much above 1.8 metres and you are back to lighting the tops of heads.
- Clear glass over a bare globe. Lovely switched off, blinding switched on. Use a frosted globe or a diffused shade.
- Matching the light to the door alone. From the street the fitting is read against the whole facade, not just the door.
- Leaving the house number dark. If your number is not lit, delivery drivers will struggle to find you.
- Asking one fitting to do everything. A modest porch light plus a low path light generally beats one very bright porch light.
Installation
Hardwired entry lights need a licensed electrician in every Australian state.
What drives the cost is not the fitting, it is the wiring. If there is already a bulkhead beside the door, a straight swap is a short job. Running a new point costs meaningfully more, especially through brick or rendered walls, and a pair is usually cheaper per fitting than doing them on separate visits. Our guide to what drives installation cost explains what to ask for so you can get a sensible written quote.
If you are only going to upgrade one exterior light in the whole house, make it the front door. It is the fitting you and everyone else see most.
Frequently asked questions
How high should a front door light be mounted?
About 1.6 to 1.7 metres from the porch floor to the centre of the fitting, which is roughly eye level, so light falls on faces rather than the tops of heads. Keep it 250 to 350mm out from the door frame.
One light or two either side of the front door?
Two if the door sits centrally with clear wall on both sides, because a matched pair spreads light evenly and looks deliberate. One if the door is off to one side or a window is in the way, mounted on the handle side rather than the hinge side.
What IP rating does a front door light need?
IP44 is generally enough under a deep porch or eave. For an exposed wall with no cover, or a coastal site, look for IP65 and pay as much attention to the material as the number.
How bright should an entry light be?
Around 400 to 700 lumens per fitting, in warm white at about 2700K. Brighter creates glare, which makes it harder to see rather than easier.
What size should an entry wall light be?
Roughly a quarter to a third the height of the door. For a standard 2040mm door that is about 300 to 450mm tall for a single fitting, or a little smaller for each half of a pair.
This guide is general information, not electrical advice. Always use a licensed electrician and confirm specifics for your own home.
