How to light your dining room

Which light fitting for your dining room?

A place for good company and sharing, the dining room matters just as much as the living room or the bedrooms. While we often pay close attention to dining room décor, lighting tends to get less thought. Yet stylish lighting enhances the warm, convivial atmosphere of a dining room during meals with family or friends. Your dining room lighting should therefore be soft, neither too dazzling nor too dull. To get it right, you can choose from a wide range of light fittings designed for the dining room.

What you need to know about dining room lighting

Choosing your lighting is very important, especially in a room like the dining room. A light fitting that is both functional and decorative brings a warm, cheerful atmosphere to a room. The wrong choice, on the other hand, takes away from the convivial feel of the dining room and can even become a source of discomfort. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a light for your dining room:

• The décor style of your home: it is essential to match your lighting to the décor as a whole, not just that of the dining room. For a country style, choose rope pendants. For a more modern look, go for LED ceiling lights or wall lights.
• The shape and size of the dining table: as the centrepiece of the dining room, the table deserves to be shown off by the right lighting. Your choice of fitting will vary depending on the table's shape (rectangular, square, round, oval and so on), its material(s) and its size. For a square table, choose a single globe pendant or an indoor floor lamp. For a large rectangular table, track pendants or large pendants are ideal, provided the dining room décor is not too busy.
• Ceiling height: the height of a room's ceiling has a direct bearing on the type of fitting to install. For a ceiling lower than 2.50 m, choose wall lights, track spotlights or vertically adjustable spotlights, or ceiling lights. Taking up very little space, these fittings bring a modern touch and a gentler light to your dining room. If your ceiling is higher, however, go for oversized pendants or chandeliers.
• Colour temperature: to enhance the warm, cosy atmosphere of a dining room, it is important to light it with soft, comforting light. Choose fittings with a colour temperature between 2500 and 4000 kelvin. This covers warmer shades of white as well as softer yellow tones.

Wall lights for the dining room

To avoid the cold, rather lonely atmosphere created by a single light source, it is essential to install several fittings dotted around the dining room. Wall lights are an excellent choice as supplementary lighting. Whatever the style of your dining room, there are wall lights to suit you. Vintage or brass models are perfect for a classic or neo-retro dining room. For a contemporary style, choose wooden wall lights with LED bulbs. The chic design of these fittings blends effortlessly into a modern, design-led interior.

Floor lamps for the dining room

Floor lamps are very much on trend and bring a stylish, chic feel to any room. Arched floor lamps are best suited to lighting your dining table if your dining room is short on space. Black and gold models add a touch of understated style, while simple models fitted with LED bulbs bring originality and modernity to this sociable room.

Spotlights for the dining room

Like wall lights, spotlights bring lightness and modernity to the overall atmosphere of the dining room. As elegant as they are discreet, spotlights are perfect supplementary lights for your dining room. If your ceiling is a light, neutral colour, an upward-facing spotlight will give excellent, soft and elegant light. Track spotlights, wall spotlights or recessed spotlights: you are spoilt for choice. If your décor is industrial in style, white LED spotlights will look wonderful in your dining room. For an understated, elegant touch, wood and glass spotlights are highly recommended.

Pendants for the dining room

The main fitting for lighting the dining table, pendants cast direct light onto this centrepiece of the dining room. Highly decorative, pendants are especially recommended in a large dining room with a high ceiling. They are also more effective at lighting a large table. Linear wooden pendants, for example, have a particularly elegant, refined design that works perfectly with every décor style. Brown and gold lacquered pendants also add a touch of originality and style to your dining room.

Ceiling lights for the dining room

A ceiling light is ideal as the main fitting in a room such as the dining room. With its charm and elegance, a ceiling light lifts the often static atmosphere of a dining room while giving the right light to bring out the room's other decorative features. Gold and black steel models fitted with an LED bulb are the perfect example. The simple, modern design of these ceiling lights fits easily into a dining room where sharing and good cheer are the order of the day. You can also choose concrete-grey ceiling lights, which are ideally suited to an industrial style.

Chandeliers for the dining room

Decorative pieces par excellence, chandeliers have a classic design and bring real character back to a dining room. If your dining room has a high ceiling, a chandelier is the best lighting solution. Usually featuring several lamps, a chandelier can light the entire dining room while highlighting the luxurious style of your décor. You can choose from crystal chandeliers, chandeliers with shades, multi-arm chandeliers and classic designs. To give your dining room a rustic feel, choose the 8-bulb ROMA model. Its simple, authentic design makes it a perfect fitting for your dining room. If you prefer simplicity and elegance, opt for Ballon chandeliers. For a bolder, more futuristic décor, models from the FLOS range will fit the bill.