Our founder Harriet Daniels shares her Top 5 tips for designing dining space lighting:

1.Invest time deciding the height to hang your dining pendant above the table

The most commonly asked question on dining space design is – how low to hang a chandelier over the dining table?  The answer depends on a number of  factors: dining table style, chandelier style (in particular sight lines through it and around it), ceiling height, any outliers in the family in terms of height, wider sightlines in the space, and finally other pieces around it.  The idea is to strike a balance between being able to catch a fellow diner’s eye when standing at the start or end of a meal, but still creating a sense of cosy intimacy!  Get your interior designer to advise you on this!

2. Layer decorative lighting over task lighting for multi-function space

Most households also use their dining tables for other activities, e.g. children doing their homework.  Make sure you layer also include some architectural / task lighting in your dining space to ensure that all use cases are covered!

3. Dimming is essential for that flattering evening glow

Obvious!  Enough said.

4. Avoid glare: select pieces with diffuse light

Glare is not conducive to an elegant evening of dining – make sure you select a piece with suitably diffuse light output that is not going to burn your guests’ retina!

5. Ground in scheme by selecting complimentary finishes

Link to other finishes and ideally Wall Lights, Floor or Table Lamps in the room to create a cohesive scheme.  This doesn’t need to mean variations of the same light, just select complimentary finishes and tones.