Dining Room Lighting: It All Happens Above the Table
Dining room lighting has one hard constraint, and it is absolute: the fixture centers on the table, never on the room. A table that sits off-center therefore needs the light offset too, with a canopy and a fabric cord, or a track. It is the most common mistake and the most obvious one once guests are seated.
Then proportions. Allow 30 to 36 inches between the tabletop and the bottom of the fixture, and a diameter around one third of the table's width. For a rectangular table over six feet, two or three pendants in a row light more evenly than one large fixture, which leaves the ends in shadow.
A dimmer earns its keep here more than anywhere: the same table serves breakfast and dinner, two moments that call for very different levels. Browse our pendant lights, and carry the mood through to the living room.
