The 5 Layers of a Well-Lit Dining Room

A chandelier over a table is a classic start to a well-lit dining room, but if you want to create the most comfortable, functional and stylish environment, you will need to address all five layers of lighting. These layers include light for “doing,” “knowing,” “feeling,” “changing” and “telling your story.”

Light for doing helps you see the food on your plate. Light for knowing lets you see the faces of your dinner guests. Light for feeling can make your dining room more relaxing and inviting. Light for changing will help you adapt from a romantic dinner to a post-dinner board game. And light to tell a story lets you show off your style and taste.

1. Light for Doing

Seeing the food on your plate is important, and ostensibly why we put chandeliers and pendants above our tables. Surprisingly, however, many dining room chandeliers do a better job of illuminating the ceiling than the table, pushing more light up than down to the table where we need it. A fixture that directs more light down, or a pair of recessed downlights on either side of a pendant, as in the space above, will make it easier to see what’s on your plate.

2. Light for Knowing

You want to read the expressions on the faces of your dinner guests, and light for knowing can provide a soft, ambient layer of light throughout the space. Think about a bathroom mirror with sconces on each side to help illuminate your face. A softly glowing double pendant hanging just above the table can create a similar effect, making conversation more pleasant.

3. Light for Feeling

Does a candlelit dinner appeal to you? Candles flicker, create smoke, make scary shadows and drip wax all over, but many of us love them nonetheless. We are conditioned to find flames and similar glowing lights comforting and relaxing. A few wall sconces, buffet lamps or accent lamps strategically placed can give you that warm candlelit effect without the hassle and mess of candles.

4. Light for Changing

We use our dining room table for meals all year long. In the winter, it might be pitch dark outside. In the summertime, we often eat our meals long before the sun goes down. We also use our dining tables for many things other than eating: Doing homework, playing board games, decorating cookies and after-dinner conversation, to name a few. Adding in multiple light sources and using dimmers make it possible to change a room’s lighting to suit your needs and the season.