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Pendant Lighting 101
With a full spectrum of shades, styles and colors, pendant lights wrap practical function in a pretty package
Houzz Contributor. Fresh out of journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately discovered a new passion. An Atlanta native, I spent several years as an editor for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine before making the leap to national publications and websites such as Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Accents. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with my husband and son, who’ve gotten used to coming home and finding the furniture rearranged. When I'm not dragging case goods across the floor, I enjoy good food and wine, college football, music of all kinds, and traveling.
Houzz Contributor. Fresh out of journalism school, I fell into decorating... More »
Pendants — lights that hang from a ceiling via cords, chains or poles — are essential to a well-layered lighting plan. Not only do they channel task lighting where it's needed, but they also offer a prime opportunity to put a decorative flourish on a space. Consider these pointers when choosing and installing pendants in your home.
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How to choose them. First, consider the scale of the room. Does it call for wide, prominent shades or slender, unobtrusive ones? How many do you need to illuminate your target surface? Choose fixtures that will neither overshadow the most subtle elements of the space nor get lost amid the strongest ones. One good rule of thumb: Scale them directly to the surface they'll illuminate (a dining table, for instance).
Decide, too, how transparent or opaque you want the pendant shades to be. A clear glass shade will allow light to spread throughout the room, while a metal or porcelain one will keep the beam focused downward. Similarly, do you want the bulb exposed beneath the perimeter of the shade or recessed entirely within it? Shades with open tops will allow light to flood the ceiling above.
Now you can get to the fun stuff: the decorative aspect. Pendants can be a prime opportunity to add top notes of color and sparkle: blown or milky glass, shiny and matte metals, fabric and paper.
Decide, too, how transparent or opaque you want the pendant shades to be. A clear glass shade will allow light to spread throughout the room, while a metal or porcelain one will keep the beam focused downward. Similarly, do you want the bulb exposed beneath the perimeter of the shade or recessed entirely within it? Shades with open tops will allow light to flood the ceiling above.
Now you can get to the fun stuff: the decorative aspect. Pendants can be a prime opportunity to add top notes of color and sparkle: blown or milky glass, shiny and matte metals, fabric and paper.
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by CWB Architects
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| Where to put them. They're most commonly seen above kitchen islands, but pendants pop up in every room of the home. They can define the space above a breakfast bar, take the place of reading lamps in a bedroom, extend into a foyer or stand in for sconces in a bathroom. Pendants are often grouped in odd numbers — a single drum shade over a dining table, three slim lights over a kitchen island — for visual appeal. However, it's more important to tailor the number to your space. If a kitchen peninsula has room for only two well-placed fixtures above it, that's better than cramming in three just for the sake of design maxims. |
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How to hang them. Generally, pendants are installed 28 to 36 inches above the surface they'll light, 60 to 72 inches from the floor to the base of the shade, and 24 to 30 inches apart (in the case of multiple fixtures grouped together). In bathrooms, hang the lights at eye level. Over a kitchen island or other work zone, pendants should be mounted in a position and at a height where they'll stay out of the way. In a hallway or foyer, be sure people won't bang their heads on them.
What you'll pay. You can find pendants in an enormous range of price points, from inexpensive models at home centers to custom pieces that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The good news? While price and quality go hand in hand, even the most affordable pendant lights come in stylish shapes and finishes. Buy the best your budget can handle, but your options won't be limited if there's no wiggle room in your wallet.
More:
The Sleeker Side of Pendant Lighting
Get the Lighting Right: 8 Mistakes to Avoid
Design Details: Quite the Light
What you'll pay. You can find pendants in an enormous range of price points, from inexpensive models at home centers to custom pieces that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The good news? While price and quality go hand in hand, even the most affordable pendant lights come in stylish shapes and finishes. Buy the best your budget can handle, but your options won't be limited if there's no wiggle room in your wallet.
More:
The Sleeker Side of Pendant Lighting
Get the Lighting Right: 8 Mistakes to Avoid
Design Details: Quite the Light
Ideabook published on March 28, 2012.
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For a better understanding of choosing bulbs, watts, lumens, lumens per watt, color rendering, gamma, efficiency, etc. you may consider contacting a lighting designer. Review your spaces and your needs with them, and be particular about what you want.
Often to discuss these out of context or in the abstract can be quite daunting.
Most of us have many years of schooling and/or practical experience that were needed to learn all this, and apply it in sensible and beautiful ways. Go ahead and take advantage of what we have to offer.
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