Front door with or without side light

The hallways in a single-family house are usually longer and are more frequently used due to access to the upper floor and basement.
In my apartment, I also have a dark hallway, and I must say it annoys me a bit when I have to turn on the light every time...

Exactly, in an apartment you have the hallway light on all day and the hallway is also used more frequently than in a single-family house, because generally 100% of the rooms in the apartment are accessed via this one hallway, whereas in a single-family house it’s only 50%. In the evening, when everyone is upstairs in the kids’ room, bedroom, and bathroom, the ground floor is hardly used at all.
For me, aesthetics come before function... if a door with a glass element doesn’t fit the overall aesthetics, I’ll just turn on the light if necessary. With artificial light (design), you can create atmosphere much better anyway, than if everything is simply fully lit (with daylight)... As long as it’s bright, bright, bright... no matter if it gets too warm in summer or if every passerby can watch you take off your shoes.

In my apartment I also have a dark hallway and I have to say that it annoys me a bit when I have to turn on the light every time...

Fortunately, our hallway is not dark:



Therefore, I always advocate for as many opportunities for natural light as possible, even in the area of the front door.

By the way, we have completely dispensed with light switches in the hallway and instead had indoor motion detectors installed on every floor:


That way you always have light as soon as you enter the hallway. And the device even works through the light cutout in the front door, so the light turns on in the hallway as soon as you stand in front of the front door.

Door width: The door leaf or the clear frame dimension, so with frame?

Only the door leaf ….. less would somehow be tight ….

Fortunately, our hallway is not dark:



Therefore, I always advocate for as many light entry points as possible, including in the area of the front door.

By the way, we have completely done without light switches in the hallway and instead had such indoor motion sensors installed on every floor:


You always have light as soon as you enter the hallway. And the thing even works through the light cutout in the front door, so the light in the hallway comes on as soon as you stand in front of the door.

We have those too and I’m somewhat pleased …. The cat always turns the light on and at night it’s way too bright for me, so it stays off then …. Unfortunately, we forgot to install an extra switch in the hallway to turn on the light, we only have the motion sensor …. Anyone who wants to see something in the wardrobe after 11 p.m. … has to know that the light only comes on with the motion sensor and has to be big enough for that (-;

Anyone who wants to see something in the cloakroom after 11 p.m. … must know that the light only turns on at the BM and has to be big enough for that (-;

Really, how high are those things mounted? Here, they are in the normal position, where the light switch would also be. And they are actually always set to automatic.

For me, aesthetics come before utility... if a door with glass elements doesn't fit into the overall aesthetic, then I'll turn on the light if necessary. With artificial light (design), you can create atmosphere much better anyway than if everything is just fully lit (with daylight)... as long as it's bright, bright, bright....

Uh... light switches and atmosphere // daylight and lighting... I see that as a contradiction.

and I have to say that it annoys me a little when I have to turn on the light every time...

That's exactly what it's about: it's not about full light or workplace lighting, nor about capturing southern sun to gain more light in the lounge area: this is about a well-functioning practice.

By the way, we completely dispensed with light switches in the hallway and instead had these indoor motion detectors installed on every floor:

A gain for trapped room niches. For traffic areas, there could be a big minus if you want to influence the lighting effect yourself. Not everyone is up for hallway lighting when they want to relax at night.