Lighting a Dining Room So Everyone Looks Good

Dining light has one job that has nothing to do with seeing your food: it has to be kind to the faces around the table.

Hang it lower than you think

A pendant should sit 75 to 85cm above the tabletop. Higher and it glares into eyes; lower and it blocks the conversation across the table.

Warm and dimmable, always

Below 2700K the light flatters skin and food alike. A dimmer turns the same fitting from a homework lamp into a dinner-party one.

Add a second layer

A single pendant leaves the rest of the room black. A pair of wall lights at low level gives the room depth once the plates are cleared.