One room, two functions

More and more often, the dining table is part of the living room rather than a separate dining room. That makes choosing the right pendant light a little trickier: it needs to provide good light over the table, but it's also visible in your living room throughout the day. So it needs to work as both task lighting and part of your interior, which makes choosing the right design important.

Let it match the rest

Because the lamp hangs in the same room as your sofa and cabinets, you want everything to work well together. Choose a lamp that complements the materials or colours you already have: black with other black accents, or wood or linen with a natural interior. If you already have a pendant light above the seating area or a floor lamp, choose a style that works well with the lighting around it.

How high do you hang it?

A pendant light above the dining table is best hung 80 to 100 cm above the tabletop. This gives you enough light on the table while keeping a clear view of the person opposite you. In a living room, this is particularly important: hang it too high and it may not provide enough light on the table, while hanging it too low can obstruct your view from the sofa. With most models, you can adjust the height yourself.

Is your connection point in the wrong place?

This is a common problem in a living room: the junction box is in the middle of the room, while your table is positioned to one side. Normally, moving the connection point would mean opening up the ceiling, but there is another option. With track lighting, you can position the light where you need it and move it later if you rearrange the room.

Dimming matters more here

In a combined living and dining room, the lamp is used for more than just mealtimes. Choose warm white light (around 2700K) and make sure you can dim it: brighter while you're eating, then softer when you sit on the sofa afterwards. A 3-step dimmable pendant light lets you do this using your ordinary wall switch, without a separate dimmer. You can also take a look at our pendant lights for the dining room.