Inspiration & Ideas for Using Lighting Successfully in a Small Space

You can add these to your “words to live by” list: never underestimate the power of good lighting. A beautifully decorated room can end up feeling like a cave and that chair you just had recovered in gorgeous flax colored linen can look sickly green if you lack adequate lighting. It’s even more complicated in a small space. Creating the balance between too much and too little light, plus finding fixtures that won’t overwhelm a petite space can take some trial and error. Here are ten small spaces that get it right.

1. An oversized glass pendant adds light without weight at 47 Park Avenue.
2. A small wall lamp brightens an otherwise dark landing in this Design Sponge house tour.
3. Small wall lamps are a great solution for tiny bedrooms with space for only the tiniest bedside tables. You might recognize this Little Green Notebook room from our recent roundup of DIY Projects for Small Bedrooms AND from our roundup of Wall Mounted Tables for Every Room. I think this room is an Apartment Therapy favorite!
4. Desire to Inspire shares this modern studio apartment with sleek track that both illuminates and provides a stylish design element to the minimal space.
5. A modern pendant combined with industrial wall lamps cover all the bases in this small Brooklyn bedroom at Manhattan Nest.

6. A sconce mounted on a paned mirror reflects light back into this small Moscow home, from Desire to Inspire.
7. The vintage pendant in this Design Sponge home tour is beautiful, but the under-shelf lighting is practical and convenient for food prep in this small kitchen.
8. A row of pendants define this tiny one-wall kitchen, from Marie Claire Maison.
9. Small sconces are the appropriate scale for this small bathroom at Door Sixteen. I love that the sconces echo the curve of the sink!
10. A hanging light and small table lamp brighten a bedside corner in the Harts Lane studio.