It has been brought to my attention that I inadvertently credited this photo to Tobi Fairley.
This is actually the work of my good friend Phillip Sides for the Coastal Living Seawatch Idea House.
My apologies to both Phillip and Tobi.
I greatly admire both of you.
If you would like to be able to say ,”That was fun!” at the end of your project contact me at
There are so many questions that have to be answered in the construction of a new home. Important questions. It can become overwhelming.
One category that causes great confusion is the placement of wall lights.
Here are some general guidelines:
For standard wall lights the junction box placement should be @ 5’6″ above finished floor (AFF)
Phillip Sides Interior Design
Swing arm lamps near sofas should be @ 42″ AFF
Design by James Michael Howard
Above bookshelves lights are placed just above the trim at top of top shelf.
Above a mantle the junction box should be 15-18″ above the shelf, unless you have very tall ceilings and a very large painting; then you adjust accordingly.
Veranda
Above beds:
21″ above top of mattress or 42″ from floor if standard 21″ mattress
45″ from floor if 24″ mattress
48″ from floor if 27″ mattress
Some beds today are extremely tall- mine is 40″ so lights by my bed would need to be mounted at 60″.
Buy your mattress before you place your lights!
In alcove settings like the one pictured you have to “tweak” to make sure guests don’t hit their heads on the fixtures.
I find that once you hit 10′ ceilings you sometimes have to stop and reconsider so that they don’t look too low but in bathrooms the danger is that you get the light source too high and the face is thrown into shadow.
It’s just a little bit tricky.
If you need someone to handle these questions and you want to say, “That was fun!” at the end of your project contact me at www.cindybarganier.com.
Forever design 