Lighting in low ceiling dining room.

7 years ago

I have 8.5 ft ceiling in my dining room. There is no overhead light and I do not want to tear down ceiling to wire lighting. In the afternoon I have plenty of light from windows but once the sun goes down I need lights. I have a pole lamp in the corner and a table lamp on dry sink. I want to add lighting over the table without wiring. I saw battery operated pendant lights that can be installed and the drop adjusted. Two questions, how low should the drop be to the table top? And, how much space should be maintained between the light? I was thinking three will be right since it is a long table. Any suggestions on this appreciated.

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Comments (3)

Katrina Burunov (Fink)
7 years ago
I think it's usually 30-36 " above the table. I guess it depends on how tall you are... my husband is 6'5" so we're always hang chandeliers etc pretty high above the table. when your bending ightly to put food orva centerpiece on the table you don't want to bang your head. I would look at the watts of the pendants to see if that will give you enough light. you may need 4 or 5. I have a dim dining room too. even though we have a chandelier. I'll looking into sconces that don't have to be hard wired ( just plugged into existing socket)
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Hoffman Grayson Architects LLP
7 years ago
Well, I typically put the bottom of the shade a few inches above your eye level when seated. This assures that your eyes will be shielded from seeing a bare light bulb or filament, and it puts the best light on the table, food, and everyone's faces.

As for spacing that is a judgement call, based on the diameter of the light, and brightness.

You might also consider an arc floor light from the corner of the room, that suspends a shade over the table.

Another option is a cord-hung fixture, where you run the cord up through a hook on the ceiling over the table, and then across the ceiling to the wall or corner, and then down to an outlet. Then you are just turning it on and off with one cord switch, rather than three or five battery operated lights of questionable brightness.

Finally, electricians are usually able to snake wiring with very minimal damage- have you consulted with one?
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mjhanratty
last year
Very pretty room! I am curious about the paint color, above the wallpaper.

Lighting in low ceiling dining room.

Comments (3)

Katrina Burunov (Fink)

Hoffman Grayson Architects LLP

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