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Learn · Designers and builders · Lesson 22 of 22

Choose and place wall lights

You willPlace a wall light from the Library, set its finish and its light, switch it on or off, and see it lit in 3D and in a Photo render.
Time4 min
Why it mattersEach wall light carries its real size, height, lumens, colour and IP rating, so the render and the schedule both tell the truth.

Try it in Plotlay → Opens an example project with this lesson beside it. Nothing to install.

Steps

  1. Open Library, choose Lighting, then Wall lights, Bathroom lighting or Outdoor lighting. Or search sconce, vanity light, picture light, wall washer or opal globe.
  2. Click one, such as Opal globe wall light, round backplate, brushed bronze, then click the plan against a wall. It goes in at its usual height: sconces about 1600 to 1800 to their middle, vanity lights over the mirror, picture lights over the art, step lights at 300.
  3. Select it and choose All details…. Finish sets the metal: black, brass, white, brushed nickel, chrome, brushed bronze or oak. A ceramic sconce also has Ceramic glaze (speckled stone, sand, terracotta, sage or white) and Speckle (none, fine or bold).
  4. Leave Light goes, Colour temperature and Light output at As the fitting, or change them: up, down, up and down, all round or aimed; 2700 K to 5000 K; 150 to 2000 lumens.
  5. Choose 3D and turn the time to after dark. Click the light to switch it off or on: a light left off stays dark in Photo render and Print quality too.
  6. In a bathroom, check the IP rating in Schedules (Items): IP44 suits the room out of the direct spray, IP65 a shower or outside.

Tips

  • Off the floor is to the bottom of the fitting. Change it in All details to suit a bed head or a mirror.
  • A pair of vanity tubes comes as one item with the mirror width as its setting.
  • Add a motion sensor light switch or a ceiling occupancy sensor from Electrical & data, Switches and controls, for a bathroom or laundry.

Common mistakes

  • Using a dry-area light over a shower: the schedule shows Dry rooms only. Pick an IP65 light there.
  • Aiming every light the same way: a picture light shines down and back onto the art; a washer down the wall.
Check yourself

Which wall light suits the wall inside a shower?

Words in this lesson

Library
Real-sized things to place, by category and subcategory: kitchen, bathroom, furniture, lighting, power, heating, stairs, outdoor, site, commercial, vehicles, plants. Search in your own words (GPO, countertop), filter, and star favourites.
Schedule
A table drawn from the plan: rooms and finishes, doors, windows, plants or materials. It updates as the plan changes and downloads as CSV.

Related lessons

Make a photo render of a roomTrace the light in a 3D view to get a photo-like still: daylight through the windows, real glass and metals, soft shadows.5 minChoose finishes and add fit-out to a roomSet a room’s floor tile and paint, and place a fitting such as a towel rail against a wall to the millimetre.5 minFill shelves with books, board games or decorChoose what stands on a bookcase or wall unit: books, board games, both, decor or nothing, and how full.3 min

Steps checked in the app on 24 October 2026.