Home > Safe and Stylish Stairway Lighting Safe and Stylish Stairway Lighting Stairway lighting is an extremely important yet often overlooked practice. But having effective stair lighting can increase safety while increasing the overall ambience of your home. Here are a few tips to ensure effective stairway lighting: First, place the main overhead light at the top instead of the bottom of your stairs. This decreases the risk of accidents by having the light angle face the part of the stair people place their feet. Secondly, if you have the time and budget, installing recessed spotlights into the stairs themselves or into the wall of the staircase is the most effective method of stairway lighting. Lastly, an inexpensive method with a similar effect of step lighting is to place a few wall sconces along the wall. However, these must be kept high to avoid looking awkward as well as prevent a possible trip and fall.