My first reaction was. "how can a switch face the wrong way? If the toggle is in the junction box, turn it around!" The hallway is apparently not straight, but L-shaped? You can't harvest daylight in a dark hallway. Are there windows or a skylight in the hallway? Your best bet is probably to get a motion sensor light to replace the one there currently. You would just leave the switch as it is and leave it turned on. If you are renting and can not make this kind of change now is a good time to say so. This post was edited by ionized on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 10:12

Well liljenster, do you have photos of your hallway? How is the rest of your home decorated? Both could really help us help you find the perfect lighting. If I lived in a contemporary home I'd want the curvy track lighting with little spots (zenon if possible) to aim at art/photos and the floor too of course.

Ravencajun, I did that in my laundry room and it's such a cheerier room, so you're right. I'll consider that! Linelle, I had 3 solatubes in our last house --in the upstairs landing, above the stairwell, and in the windowless bath -- and loved them! We didn't have to turn on the lights until 5 in winter, and 8:30 in summer, whereas before the light was on almost all the time. Not sure I can get DH to spend on them here; the only reason he will agree to a new light fixture is that the bulbs keep going out too fast on the current one. My3dogs, thank you for the picture. Yes, that is pretty similar to the one I'm considering, I think it's the same manufacturer. I'm glad it provides plenty of light, so now I feel reassured that it will be just fine, especially since mine allows for 3 bulbs, compared to your 2.

If you prefer the look of recessed "can" lights, there are some great retrofit options these days. These install like regular surface-mount fixtures, but they are ultra-slim and look very similar to a can light. And they are quite reasonably priced too. Of course, if you want more than one fixture in a location that previously only had a single fixture, or if you want dimmers in a location that didn't have them, then things get a little more expensive. But this is well within the realm of what a DIY homeowner or a cheap handyman could do. This doesn't mean that "real" can lights don't make sense in new construction products. But for retrofits, the difference in labor cost favors the ultra-slim lights.