In this series, the home furnishing experts at Fireside Furniture are delving into a very important, though slightly less glamorous, aspect of home design: lighting. While furniture and home decor get most of the attention from visitors to your home, as well as from professional decorators and design services, we don’t want to ignore lighting.
In some respects, people only notice lighting when it’s done poorly; that is, they can’t see well in a room–but in truth, people will also be pleasantly surprised when it’s done well. In this part of our series, we’re focusing on the dining room–the most fun room in the house, because that’s where you eat. For tips on how to light your living room, check out this article, or read this article on lighting tips for your kitchen.
Lighting Up The Dining Room
Nobody’s keen to start dining in the dark, so it stands to reason that good lighting for your dining room is important. Oftentimes, the dining room is quite an enclosed and cozy part of the home, that’s usually tucked towards the center of the property.
That makes natural light sometimes out of the question – although given most meals taken in the dining room are in the evening, that’s not as much of a concern. If anything, it’s just an invitation to get creative with your lighting!
To Feature Or Not To Feature?
A good question to ask yourself when lighting your dining room is: how much of a feature of the room you want said lighting to be? For example, would you like a chandelier style light above the table casting a warm glow – working as both ambient and accent lighting all at once, with a touch of task lighting for good measure?
Or would you prefer that the dining table itself has a feature lamp as its centerpiece, showcasing that delicious home cooking and creating an intimate space for you and your loved ones to share the details of your day together? One important aspect of making this decision is the furniture you have in your dining room, so check out some of our amazing pieces here.
Task Lighting in the Dining Room
Task lighting tends to take a back seat in the dining room, although you could say that all of the illumination options we’re discussing fall into its category nonetheless. After all, you’re all going into the room specifically to enjoy a meal together.
The dining room is where we often go to connect, so it often features art, decorations and knick-knacks that you might like to highlight with accent lights such as small wall sconces, or even some spotlights.
At the broader level though, your dining room often enjoys ambient lighting from the ceiling or wall sconces that uses a milder, warmer glow than in your kitchen or living room. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but it’s often an almost fire-like glow you’re looking to make to really bring the rustic feelings home.
The dining table is the central focal point of this room, and it makes sense that the majority of your attention and energy will go into giving it appropriately wonderful and functional lighting.
What To Watch Out For When Lighting Your Dining Room
However, keep in mind that if you accidentally overdo it here, even the most generously sized dining room might seem to ‘shrink’ to the eye. It’s smart to think about how to dot lighting around the darker corners to salvage the sense of space in the room, without distracting from mealtimes. A subtle accent standing lamp in a typically shadowy corner is a good example of how to sidestep this mistake.
Worried you might accidentally go overboard with that idea and make it too dark to eat dinner? There are a few options open – the centerpiece light for the table as we discussed, or modern circular embedded ceiling lights that shine a spotlight on your lovingly prepared meals. So what gets your appetite going?
Complement Your Lighting With Lovely Furniture
In the next, and final installment of this series on lighting, we’ll discuss how to properly light your bathroom. But until then, get inspired by some of our wonderful dining tables, and then head on over to Fireside Furniture on Route 23 in Pompton Plains, NJ to check out our vast showroom and see it all in person.
