Dining Room Lighting

Why We Love Dining Room Lighting

Big or small, opulent or austere, the dining room can easily become the center to a home (especially so in more open floor plans). This makes the decision of what lighting to choose very important, whether it's for a formal dining space or a cozy breakfast nook. A basic guide to lighting dining rooms is to use linear fixtures over rectangular tables and circular fixtures over square and round tables, although there's no such thing as a hard and fast rule in the design world. From elegant dining room chandeliers to suspend over the family table to understated fixtures like like wall sconces and console table lamps, you'll find everything here to appropriately dress up you dining space.

Where Dining Room Lighting Works Best

For a look that's pleasing to the eye, the basic guideline works well: the main dining room light should share a similar shape with the dining table itself. Easy enough, right? But, after that simple rule of thumb, the sky's the limit. Ceiling lights with distinctive drum shades are an easy way to add some texture or color to the space, as well as creating a strong focal point. You'll find many drum-shaped pendants and close-to-ceiling lights to choose from. Neutral spaces can benefit from lighting fixtures featuring brighter colors and bolder patterns, and vise-versa. Going in the opposite direction, the jaunty look of a branching linear suspension brings a dynamic look to a dining space and appropriately fits the elongated shape of a rectangular table. A pair of sconces throughout the room creates a well-rounded look and if you have a console or buffet table in the space, consider accenting it with a lamp.

Dining Room Lighting Ideas for Every Style

The dining room is often regarded as a place of luxury where friends and family gather for a formal dinner occasion. But there's no reason you can't enjoy the luxury and modern appeal of well-designed lighting throughout the space at all times. Robust contemporary chandeliers by designers like Luceplan or Leucos introduce a statement-making fixture to the space, while crystal chandeliers from Schonbek are sure to inspire oohs and ahhs. If a chandelier doesn't quite fit the look of your dining room, check out any of the sleek and stylish pendants by Tech Lighting. And dining rooms decorated with more traditional elements of decor may appreciate ceiling lights in the collection from Maxim Lighting or ELK. Finally, if you appreciate the presence of energy efficiency in your dining area, look to any of the fixtures using LED as their light source.

How to Choose the Best Dining Room Light Fixtures

Before you can appropriately redecorate your dining room, you'll need to determine the functionality you need out of a light fixture. If it's to cover the dining table, look to chandeliers and pendants. Have a need for ambient washes of light? Consider a few wall lights spread throughout the space. Once you can decide where you need lighting in the room, you'll then need to measure the space to determine the sizes of lights you will need. If you are placing a chandelier or large pendant in the room, be mindful of dimensions like height, diameter and weight. With size and purpose in mind, you can then refine your options by colors, finishes and other important design features that can blend in with your dining room's existing decor. Lastly, review the fixture's lumen chart to identify just how bright it will be. If you have any questions about the dining room ceiling lights, wall lights and lamps featured here, please call our lighting experts at 877.445.4486.

Other Considerations

First things first: put a dimmer on it. Legrand Adorne and Lutron both have a wide variety of options to control the brightness of the light and you'll be glad you have them. After that, there's no reason to stop at only what's hanging over the table. Most pendants and chandeliers belong to design families, so you can tie in similar wall sconces for a little more ambient lighting. In open floor plans, adjoining areas can become extensions of the dining space, so you can get creative with that. And finally, in bigger and open dining areas, you may appreciate the air flow provided by a modern ceiling fan.