Room by Room
Our entryway is small, a narrow hall between the front door and the living room, with a coat rack on one wall and a console table on the other. It had a builder-grade flush mount that contributed nothing to the home first impression.
I replaced it with a single wall sconce mounted above the console table at 66 inches from the floor. Simple, brushed brass, with a small linen shade that diffuses light softly outward. The console holds a ceramic bowl for keys, a small plant, and whatever book I am reading.
The change in how the entry feels took me by surprise. The overhead was adequate; the sconce is welcoming. There is a specific quality to side-mounted, shaded light in an entry, intimate, like a lamp lit for your arrival. Guests notice it without being able to say why.
The entry is also the last room you see when you leave and the first when you return. When I come home from anywhere, the lit sconce above the console is the first thing I see when the door opens. It looks like home is glad I am back.
Karen at The Holloway Home wrote up her entryway lighting formula, a good reference for thinking through the fixture sequence in a transitional space.