Light, considered.
Practical guides to lighting at home: where a pendant should hang, which bulb suits which fitting, how materials age and how to light each room so it feels right after dark.
Latest
Rules of thumb
- Over a dining table
- Bottom of the pendant about 75–85 cm above the tabletop.
- Over a kitchen bench
- About 75–90 cm above the benchtop, spaced so the shades do not crowd each other.
- Where people walk
- Keep at least 2.1 m clear under a fitting in a hallway or open floor.
- Pendant width
- Roughly half to two-thirds of the table width reads well over a dining table.
- Warm or cool
- 2700 K is warm white for living spaces; 4000 K suits task areas like a laundry.
- Old watts to lumens
- A 60 W incandescent gave about 800 lumens; look for that figure on an LED box.
Starting points, not laws. Ceiling height, the size of the fitting and how you use the room all matter, and the guides explain when to bend them.
Sections
- Pendant LightsChoosing, sizing, hanging and grouping pendant lights over tables, benches and stairs.
- Light BulbsBases, lumens, colour temperature, filament and LED bulbs: what to buy for which fitting.
- MaterialsBrass, leather, concrete, timber and glass: how they look, age and need caring for.
- Room by RoomLayered lighting for kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and studies.
- Design NotesIdeas, history and the thinking behind good lighting and object design.