Plaster Wall Lights vs Alabaster: The Same Stuff, Two Very Different Lights

Plaster wall lights have been the UK default for a decade: the paintable white sconces that disappear into the wall and throw light up, down or both. Alabaster wall lights are the newer arrival, and at first glance they look like a more expensive version of the same idea.

They are related, which makes the comparison worth doing properly. But they do different jobs, and choosing the wrong one for the room is an easy mistake to make.

They are chemically the same thing

This surprises people. Plaster is gypsum, calcium sulphate, mined, heated to drive off its water, ground to powder and cast into a mould. Alabaster is also gypsum, but it never went through the mould. It is the natural stone, quarried in blocks and carved by hand.

So a plaster wall light and an alabaster wall light share a mineral. What they do not share is structure. Cast plaster is opaque and uniform. Natural alabaster has a crystalline structure that lets light through and veining that makes every piece different. Everything below follows from that.

Light quality

Plaster blocks light. A plaster wall light is a shaped box with openings, and the light leaves through the openings: up, down, or both. The wall gets lit, the fitting itself stays a matte white shape. The effect is architectural and clean, and it is why plaster lights work so well repeated down a corridor.

Alabaster transmits light. The stone glows through its whole face at low intensity, with the veining showing as warm cloud. There is still light thrown up and down the wall from open ends, but the fitting is also a light source in itself. The effect is softer, warmer, and it has depth that a painted surface cannot have.

If you want the wall lit and the fitting to vanish, plaster. If you want the fitting to be the thing you look at, alabaster.

Colour and finish

Plaster arrives white and you paint it, usually the same colour as the wall, so it disappears. That is a real advantage on a coloured wall, and it means the fitting can change colour when the room does.

Alabaster is the colour it is: a warm off-white running through cream to honey, and it does not take paint. We have written about what colour alabaster actually is and how to match it, because it is the question people ask most.

Cost

Plaster wins comfortably. A decent paintable plaster wall light runs from around £30.00 to £150.00 including VAT, because casting is cheap and fast. Alabaster starts around £140.00 and most good fittings sit between £200.00 and £450.00, because each one is cut from a block by hand and a proportion of blocks crack along a vein late in the process and are lost.

Over a run of eight corridor lights, that difference adds up to a real sum. Over a pair of bedside lights, it is the price of a nice dinner.

Durability and care

Both are soft. Both dislike water. Neither belongs in a bathroom with real steam or anywhere outdoors.

Plaster is slightly tougher because it is cast solid rather than carved thin, and because a chip in a painted plaster light can be filled and repainted. A chip in alabaster is permanent, though on natural stone it reads as character more than damage.

Both clean with a dry cloth and nothing else. We cover the alabaster method in how to clean alabaster lamps, and most of it applies to plaster too.

Installation

Surface mounted versions of both fit the same way: a backplate over a wall box, hardwired, an electrician's job.

The interesting case is plaster-in, where the fitting is set into the wall and skimmed over so the plaster of the wall runs seamlessly into the plaster of the light. It is the most architectural way to fit a wall light and it is a first fix decision, because it happens before the wall is finished.

Plaster wall lights are made for this. Alabaster mostly is not, because the stone cannot be skimmed over. The exception is a recessed alabaster fitting like our Sfera, where a carved stone sphere sits inside a plastered-in housing, so you get the flush-to-the-wall look of plaster-in with the glow of stone. From £249.00 including VAT.

Which one, where

Corridors and landings: plaster, usually. Repeated fittings should be calm, they get knocked, and the cost of six or eight adds up. Alabaster if the corridor is a feature in itself and you want warmth rather than clean lines.

Bedrooms: alabaster. You lie a metre from a bedside light for an hour a night, and the glare-free glow is the whole point. A plaster light beside a bed throws a bright wash on the wall and gives you a matte white box to look at.

Living and dining rooms: either, depending on whether the wall lights are the feature or the support. Alabaster where the fitting is meant to be noticed, plaster where a chandelier or a pendant is doing that job.

Hallways at the front door: alabaster earns its money here, because it is the first thing a visitor sees lit.

Rental and commercial: plaster for durability and cost, alabaster for the rooms where the budget goes.

Common questions

What is the difference between plaster wall lights and alabaster wall lights?

They are chemically the same mineral, gypsum, but plaster is cast in a mould and is opaque, while alabaster is the natural stone, carved by hand and translucent. A plaster wall light throws light up and down the wall and stays a matte white shape. An alabaster wall light glows through its whole face, with the veining showing as warm cloud.

Are plaster wall lights cheaper than alabaster?

Yes, comfortably. A decent paintable plaster wall light runs from around £30.00 to £150.00 including VAT. Alabaster starts around £140.00 and most good fittings sit between £200.00 and £450.00, because each one is cut from a block by hand and a proportion of blocks are lost to cracks late in the process.

Can you paint an alabaster wall light?

No. Plaster arrives white and is painted, usually to match the wall so it disappears. Alabaster is the colour it is, a warm off white running through cream to honey, and does not take paint.

Which is better for a bedroom, plaster or alabaster?

Alabaster. You lie a metre from a bedside light for an hour a night, and the glare free glow through the stone is the whole point. A plaster light beside a bed throws a bright wash on the wall and leaves you looking at a matte white box.

Which is better for a hallway, plaster or alabaster?

Plaster, usually. Repeated fittings should be calm, they get knocked, and the cost of six or eight adds up. Choose alabaster where the corridor is a feature in itself, such as the front hall of a period house, and you want warmth rather than clean lines.

The honest summary

Plaster wall lights are the better tool for lighting a wall cheaply and cleanly, and repainting when you change your mind. Alabaster wall lights are the better object, and the better light to sit beside.

Most houses want some of each. Plaster down the corridor, alabaster by the bed.

Our alabaster wall lights run from £140.00 to £449.00 including VAT. For the sizing and mounting heights that apply to both materials, the buyer's guide has the numbers. Questions on a specific room, call 0330 133 6617.