Dining Room Lighting

Dining room lighting is an important part of the overall look of the space.  It is one of those few rooms where a bold fixture is, not only necessary, but can also play a large role in setting the decor scheme.  My first choice for this room is always a chandelier light, especially if you are trying to create a formal dining space. A chandelier always elevates the look of a room. They are available in an endless number of sizes, styles and finishes. Some give off a ton of light, while others can be dimmed to set a romantic mood.  When in doubt, I always suggest going with a fixture that looks like this one. It is large enough to catch the eye, but the style and finish is neutral enough that it can go with a variety of decor schemes.

Dining room chandeliers are such a big part of the decor for that space.  They tend to become major focal points of the design and, as such, should be carefully selected. Whenever I begin working on a dining room makeover with a client, I always try to begin by establishing the decorative style they want to achieve. Generally, this ends up being whatever is found throughout the rest of the home. My second step is going over dining room lighting options with them.  Once this major piece has been decided on, it is easy to fill in the blanks with the rest of the decor. This lovely colonial home is a great example of what I am talking about.  The homeowners had excisting recessed ceiling lights scattered throughout the floorplan.

Building your own home can be quite overwhelming. There are so many tiny details that go into creating floorplan that I had never realized — where to put lights, outlets, trim types, and the list goes on. Our latest design challenge is deciding on the dining room lighting.  These pictures are of our old home. As you can see we had a bunch of recessed lights in the ceiling, some used as spotlights for our art and others purely to light the room.  While I loved the versatility of these dining room ceiling lights (and the ability to dim them to set the mood for a romantic dinner), I want to do something different this time.  My favorite inspiration designs usually feature a grand chandelier as one of the focal points in the space.

Great contemporary dining room lighting is one of those things that always catches my eye in a magazine or television show.  Something about the intricate play of metals and glass on these fixtures is so beautiful to me. For this reason, I always try to incorporate unique dining room light fixtures in all of my designs. This home was no different.  For this makeover, I was tasked with redoing the dining room and formal sitting area across the hall. This was a fun project because I was able to mirror the decor styles that would be seen in both rooms at the same time.  My inspiration for both spaces was actually this stunning black starburst fixture that I found for the sitting room.

One of my favorite things about home decor is picking out the finishing details that really take a room to the next level.  As I began decorating this space, I knew that I wanted to keep things fairly simple through the paint color and furniture, but make a statement via the dining lighting that I chose.  I decided to forgo the typical large chandelier that you usually see in the dining room and instead install a recessed lighting and two very unique and artistic fixtures. I think combining a bold dining room pendant light like this with a long table highlights the length of the room and draws the high upward to give the illusion of more height.  The pair of fixtures adds a bit of pizazz to this otherwise monochromatic design and actually became the basis for some additional design decisions.

As a residential electrician, hanging lights for dining room makeovers takes up a large part of our jobs.  It is one of those tasks that homeowners rarely feel comfortable doing because of the intricate details of so many chandeliers.  As a result, I have seen tons and tons of room lights throughout my career.  From this, I have compiled a few tips for what works and what doesn’t when it comes to selecting a fixture for you space.  First of all, keep scale in mind when you are browsing for chandeliers. I have hung so many huge fixtures in relatively small dining rooms, and it always ends up looking off balance and awkward.  If you have a limited floor plan, find a light that suits the space.