Current home design has room for formal and informal dining rooms. The emphasis on open floor plans allows for classic woods and furniture styles. But, architects also use the space to add comfort and ease with contemporary materials and striking features.
Designing your dining room depends on your purpose. You may see the room as a place for formal dinners to impress friends and colleagues. Or, you may use it to relax and chat with family and guests. Some larger homes have more than one dining room, rooms for each purpose.
Some designers select the dining room lighting fixtures as a finishing touch, but it makes just as much sense to select the light first and build the room around it. Either way, a lamp will add character, interest, and engagement.
- Make a commitment. Dining room fixtures will stay with you for a long time. You won’t be replacing them soon, so you must consider the installation and wiring.
You must consider the place, number, and style of the fixtures. And, you must imagine the fixture’s size, its interplay with other lighting, and the shape and direction of the light. For example, if the room already enjoys light from the outside, you must treat that ambient light when you configure your new fixture’s light flow.
It’s why you may want to build the room around a fixture that you find important to your taste and purpose.
- Place the table. Your lighting design does not start from the center of the room. It starts above the dining table, so you must place it first.
With the table in place, you can configure the room’s geometry and proportions. You should start with the length and width of the table. A long table suggests aligning several smaller pendants. A broader table needs a centered fixture. And, a rule of thumb is to pick a fixture that’s one-third the table’s width.
- Check the bulbs. This dining room light should illuminate the table, food, and centerpiece. It should not be so bright it pushes people away or so dim, they can’t see their food.
So, you should check the type of bulb, the wattage, and energy demand. You might include dimming features that let you alter the mood. And, you might consider the energy savings in LED lighting.
- Plan to scale. The ceiling height determines the size of the fixture including its height and the length of its support. A high ceiling would place the lamp well above the table and allow for a larger fixture.
With a lower ceiling, you must consider the headroom. You calculate the square footage of the dining room to determine the size of the fixture and the flow of its light.
The Alleta Glass Pendant, for instance, presents a contemporary look. Decorative with striking bouquet of glass globes hang down from the ceiling. It hangs 60-inches from the ceiling and 26-inches across. Delicate and formal, its gold accents offer a whimsical design that catch and refract the light.
It’s a large fixture perfect for a round dining room table. Engaging, dramatic, and functional, the Alleta helps you design the rest of the room.
SHOP CHANDELIERS
The Talin, on the other hand, measures smaller than the Monte at 32-inches across and 40-inches high. But, its elongated design creates the illusion of height. It works well in high-ceilinged rooms and in spaces where you might hang the fixture in multiples.
The tall glass cylinders recall rustic and Colonial designs, but the simple black acid-washed metal makes the design industrial and modern. A contemporary integration that fits almost any interior design plan.
Dining room light fixture ideas
Contemporary interiors allow much more freedom than past approaches. Elements don’t have to match as much as complement each other. Integration means more than adherence to a textbook style. It encourages a creative dynamic in which lighting has become a central element