The living rooms that feel best after dark are rarely lit by one thing overhead. A wall light either side of the sofa, or a pair flanking the fireplace, lowers the light to where people are sitting and lets the ceiling light go off entirely.

What a living room asks of a wall light

A second layer at sitting height. A ceiling light alone flattens a living room after dark; a pair of sconces at eye level gives the walls back their corners and puts the light where people are. Twenty-one of our wall lights suit a living room. Rhea, Nala, and Alba glow through alabaster, Arabella is travertine, and Angelica and Mirella are solid brass. Obsidian, Onyx, and Raven set crystal in black, Celestial and Lustre in gold, Aurelius folds steel into a sculptural plate, and Cadel and Link run as slim LED strips.

How to choose the right size

Scale the sconce to the wall, not the room: flanking a fireplace or a piece of art, about one-third the height of what it flanks, usually 10 to 18 inches tall. Mount the center 60 to 65 inches from the floor, just above standing eye level, and space a flanking pair 36 to 40 inches apart. Along a long wall, repeat the same piece every 8 to 10 feet at one height. Twenty of the 21 are wall-mounted and tagged for any ceiling height.

Styles and rooms across the range

Alabaster and travertine suit a soft, layered room, and the alabaster sconces page holds every stone option. Crystal in black or gold suits a formal one; a slim LED strip suits a minimal one. The wall layer is one of three, and the living room lighting collection holds the pendants and ceiling lights that make up the rest, while the living room chandeliers page covers the overhead piece the sconces are built to work with.

Twenty of the 21 run warm white; Terra runs cool white. Sixteen dim from the wall switch and Cadel from a remote. Hang a pair at one height either side of the thing the room is arranged around.