Wall washing lights a vertical surface evenly from top to bottom, making walls feel bright and open. Good wall wash depends on getting the offset and spacing right.
Offset and spacing
Mount the fixtures away from the wall by roughly one-third to one-quarter of the ceiling height, then space them along the wall about equal to that offset. This even grid gives smooth, uniform coverage without hot spots or scallops.
Washing versus grazing
Wall washing places fixtures farther out for a flat, even glow that hides surface texture. Grazing places them close to the wall to rake light across it and emphasize texture like stone or brick.
| Ceiling height | Approx offset and spacing |
|---|---|
| 8 ft | 2 to 2.5 ft |
| 10 ft | 2.5 to 3 ft |
| 12 ft | 3 to 4 ft |
See the Accent Lighting Guide and the Spot Lighting Guide.
Designing an even wall wash
The goal of wall washing is uniform brightness top to bottom, with no hot spots or scallops. The key is the spacing-to-distance ratio: set the fixtures out from the wall roughly a third of the wall height, and space them along the wall about the same distance apart, so the beams overlap evenly. Mounting too close creates bright scallops near the top; too far weakens the wash. Use wide-beam, asymmetric wall-wash optics rather than narrow spots, and keep every fixture at the same offset and aim for consistency. For a textured surface like brick or stone, do the opposite and mount close to the wall to graze light across it, exaggerating the shadows and depth.