Hallways are often overlooked as they are usually used as a dumping ground for shoes and bags but to make your apartment both safe and welcoming you need to extend your lighting scheme into the hall and up the stairs .
*Simple uplighters placed at intervals along the wall and up the stairs will chase the light up onto the ceiling.
*The treads and risers of the stairs need to be clearly visible and there should be no dark corners.
*If you have several landings make sure that they are adequately lit up.
*Try using recessed spotlight in each step for a more modern effect
*Put the main overhead light at the top of the stairs rather than the bottom to reduce the risk of accidents.
Kitchen
Nowadays the kitchen is the room where we spend the most of our time, preparing food, eating and entertaining, which is why lighting the kitchen properly has become even more essential.
A central pendant light gives a good general light, but if that is all you have you will be working in your own shadow and this will take our the enjoyment of cooking. Kitchen light should be a similar to natural light so you do not get dazzled. Whatever the shape or size of your kitchen, the light should come from behind or to the side of where you are working, not from in front. You will also need a high level task light at various areas in your kitchen, such as the sink and cooking area.
When buying a new kitchen, you will find that most modern kitchens come with built-in lights, or you can mix and match from the kitchen supplier in order to get a custom-made kitchen. Items such as cooker hoods come with a built-in illumination and cupboards can have built-in lights that are triggered when the door's are opened.
*If you have a pendant light but want to illuminate a different area, put it on a longer cord and a put a small hook in the ceiling above where you want the light to hang and clip it over.
*Replace your central pendant light with two or more ceiling-mounted fittings set wide apart to allow a much more even flow of light.
*Mini fluorescent light underneath wall units gives a good level of light over the work surface.
*Paint your kitchen ceiling matt white and keep the walls above the wall units a pale colour.
*Fit a track system with directional lights you can position over the work surface and sink.
*Fit rows of recessed downlights into the ceiling as they emit light exactly where it is needed and give good colour rendition.