Dining Room Lighting

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about how you can impress your guests and make them feel at home with your dining room design this holiday. One critical aspect of your design is lighting. Lighting is important because it contributes to the overall atmosphere during your Thanksgiving dinner – good lighting will create a warm element that allows guests to feel comfortable and homey, exactly the vibe you want during the holiday season. By focusing your attention on the main ceiling light as well as added layers of lighting for a unique style, you will round out your excellent holiday dinner with perfect lighting.

Not just for holiday celebrations but year round, the lighting design for the dining room should reveal all aspects of the space with the table as the focal point.  Lighting should be from several locations with the fixture over the table being the central design elements but not the sole source of light in the room.  Don’t put all the eggs (watts) in one basket but spread the light around.

Hanging Lights vs. Recessed Fixtures

The choice of fixture for the  table  is an important design choice –a hanging decorative element or recessed down lights.  For a traditional either a chandelier or pendant light can be used; while the chandelier is classic, the pendant light can add a modern twist to your traditional style. If simplicity is your goal,  recessed ceiling  fixtures provide a clean appearance with all the light directed onto the table.  These  are suited to very small dining rooms because they make the space appear larger.  Or use a combination of down lights with a centered decorative fixture; the downlights doing the work of highlighting the place settings and the decorative fixture is simply for effect when dimmed down to its lowest level of light.

When choosing your hanging light, take both size and wattage into consideration. Don’t be afraid of scale – open airy fixture designs can be larger. For a small dining room (less than 10’ x 10’), your light should have a diameter of  17”-20”. For a room that is about 12’ x 12’, choose a light that is 26”-27”. Finally, in a larger room (14’-18’), find a light that is 27”-36”. The  bottom of the fixture should be  about 30”-36” above your dining room table.

Recessed  and Track Lighting

When adding ambient, accent, and task lighting to your dining room, recessed and track lighting are great options. If your dining room has a buffet or sideboard, install recessed dow lights above to highlight the serving surface. Track lighting is useful when installed above open cabinets, allowing it to illuminate items that you have on display.

Wall Lighting  and More

To impress your guests this holiday season, it is important to add unique elements to your dining room lighting scheme. Another area  where lighting can be added is  the walls. Consider adding  wall sconces for a sense of warmth and decoration  and accent lighting from the ceiling to  light framed  artwork or family photos. You can also add a variety of unique lighting fixtures such as candleholders or even LED lights to create a special effect.