Lighting for the Ultimate Dining Experience

Whether you have a kitchen diner, living dining room or a separate dining room, these will always be the spaces where friends and family gather either on a daily basis or for special events. That’s why it’s so important to take the lighting of your dining room into account in order to create an ambience that encourages good conversation during a party or a relaxing atmosphere when you need to chill.

A modern, popular trend we are finding at the Light Company is the addition of pendant lamps above a dining table to create a statement which can, at the same time, complement your dining room’s décor. If adding a pendant to light your home is something you are thinking of doing, check out these tips from our lighting expert Judy Davison.

Choosing the Right Pendant Light

Your choice of pendant light will depend on your personal taste and your home’s décor. Are you looking for a warm and cosy ambience or would you prefer a brighter light for more functional use? If you want a bit of both, you also have the option of a dimmer light which enables you to control the intensity of the light you will want for different occasions.

Top tip – don’t go for a light which will overshadow your dining table. Look for lights which offer the functionality you require but which also complement your home rather than dominating a room.

In a kitchen/diner for example, our Laura Ashley pendant lights come in a variety of metallic finishes including polished chrome, antique brass and an attractive industrial nickel which will complement your fixtures and fittings.

Positioning Your Pendant Light

Before selecting a pendant light, you need to check what is the best position and height for the light as you don’t want to be bumping your head into it every time you and your family sit down to eat. You also need to consider the size of your dining table (as you won’t want a huge pendant light over a two-seater table; and neither will you want a single, slender one over an eight-seater table).

As a general guideline, we recommend that for four to six-seater dining table, that you hang your light around 60 to 70 cm above the table. You can do this by calculating the distance from the top of the table to the bottom of the lampshade allowing the lamp to hang at an eye-level when you stand up and see the inner shade when seated.

If you have a long table, then a good option is a cluster of pendant lights which will light up the length of the table (ensuring the whole area benefits rather than just a central part of the table).

Top tip – if possible see if you can get an adjustable or retractable pendant light so if you ever change your dining table, the light can stay in place and be adjusted if your new table is different in size. For example, our Jewel 3 Light Bar Adjustable Pendant Chrome light is perfect for any modern dining setting and comes with adjustable cords.

Matching Your Décor

So you’ve decided to enhance your dining room with that all important pendant light – all you need to do now is choose the right one to suit your décor as well as your functionality and other needs.

As a general rule, we recommend metallic finishes for kitchen/diners, chandelier style pendants for a dining room and anywhere in between for a living dining area.

At the Light Company we stock a huge range of pendant lights from leading brands including Laura Ashley and Franklite. See our full range here or call into our shop in Craddock Street Swansea for first hand, expert advice.