The right lighting in your home can transform it into something magical! That’s why it’s important to know how to precisely pair kitchen and dining room lights.
Here are some tips on how to precisely pair kitchen and dining room lights:
- Consider the style of the rooms.
- Explore the different types of fixtures.
- Select an area to focus on.
- Make sure the lighting doesn’t match completely.
- Take functionality into account.
The rest of this article will explore these tips in more detail, so be sure to keep reading if you need help pairing the lights in your kitchen and dining room.
Contents
1. Consider the style of the rooms
The very first thing you should consider is the style of your kitchen and dining room. Are the rooms bright and lively? Or are they mostly on the darker side? Perhaps your dining room and kitchen are completely separate, with one being bright while the other is dark.
Whatever the situation may be, you’ll want to make sure your lights match the style of your rooms.
For example, a minimalist and modern kitchen and dining room would work best with sleek ceiling lights. An example of this would be the Jaycomey flush mount ceiling light from Amazon. It’s elegant, clean, and suitable for any interior design.
On the other hand, a more traditional home might look better with an old-style chandelier, such as this Kira Home Quinn chandelier from Amazon. Its color scheme makes it versatile for any style and design.
So, the style of your rooms and your home will greatly influence the lighting you choose.
2. Explore the different types of fixtures
There are many types of fixtures to choose from, so be sure to explore your options. You might think you want a certain type of light without looking at other types, so always keep your choice (and your eyes) open!
It would be impossible to discuss every type of fixture since there are too many, but I will briefly discuss a few examples of fixtures below.
Crystal Chandeliers
Crystal chandeliers are traditionally stylish for many rooms. They give any room a more formal and rich appearance, and the crystals will sparkle bright from the bulbs, adding an additional layer of brightness to the space.
Although crystal chandeliers are considered more “traditional” and even ‘old-fashioned’ by some, they are popular among many homeowners, whether the room style is modern or old-fashioned.
Since crystal chandeliers hang low, you’ll want to make sure your ceiling is high enough for the one you choose. You certainly don’t want it getting in the way or people’s heads bumping into the crystals!
Pendant Lighting
Pendant lights are another excellent choice, regardless of the style of your rooms. These lights come in various styles, so the options are endless. One thing that remains the same with all pendant lights is the length; all pendant lights hang low.
These lights go well with any modern and fresh space, but be careful not to hang them too low!
C.T.C (Close to Ceiling) Lighting
If one or both of your rooms have low ceilings or if you prefer the look of smaller lights, C.T.C lights may be worth considering. These lights certainly won’t get in the way or risk injuring anyone, and they work well in many spaces.
These lights come in various styles, some plain and some more extravagant. Be sure to explore the different types of C.T.C lighting to get ideas, such as this simple Archiology flush mount ceiling light from Amazon. It’s simple yet functional and seamlessly fits any interior design.
Wall Sconces
Wall sconces are not the most common choice, but many people enjoy combining them with ceiling lights. Wall sconces not only provide additional light but also decorate a space.
Instead of worrying about covering an empty wall with a painting, you can simply add an elegant wall sconce; functional and stylish!
3. Select an area to focus on
When choosing the lighting for your kitchen and dining room, you need to think about the area you want to focus on the most. You may want to have two focal points; one in the dining area and one in the kitchen.
Alternatively, you may just want one focal point. One of the most common areas people like to focus on is the dining table. Traditionally, you’d place a chandelier over the dining table rather than in the middle of the room.
This can help bring the space together, not to mention it’s focusing on the main function of the dining room: a table where everyone can enjoy their delicious meals!
If you decide to place your prominent light fixture over the dining table, you’ll want to ensure you measure it before adding it. You don’t want it to be too low that it gets in the way, but also not too high that it doesn’t have the desired wow factor. Getting the height right is crucial to bringing the dining room together!
It’s perfectly acceptable to have a focal point in both the dining room and kitchen if you wish. If you have a chandelier above your dining table, you might also want to place a chandelier in the center of your kitchen. Another place people like to draw attention using a chandelier is the kitchen island.
4. Make sure the lighting doesn’t match completely
I briefly mentioned this when discussing focal points, but it’s important to reiterate that your chosen lighting should not match completely. This applies not only to focal areas and chandeliers; it applies to all lights.
For example, if you decide to have a pendant light in your kitchen area and want to have another pendant light in your dining area, you can certainly do that! However, it would be best to choose a different pendant light with a similar overall style.
Having the exact same fixture in both rooms is not the worst thing in the world, but it can look a bit too uniform and boring. A little variety is a great way to liven up your dining room and kitchen.
The styles shouldn’t be completely different either
It’s great to have some differences between the fixtures, but you don’t want to go overboard with mixing too many different styles, as it can look quite chaotic. Those who enjoy mixing styles and having a lot of variety should, by all means, do so! Otherwise, it would be best to stick with a more organized look.
For example, it’s not a good idea to have a bright green chandelier right next to a crystal one. This would likely look strange and confusing, and possibly even distracting. After all, you want your lighting to attract attention for the right reasons.
Don’t worry if your dining room and kitchen are separate
If your dining room and kitchen are not connected and are both independent rooms, you can certainly go for different styles! Some people may want to stick with similar styles throughout their entire home, while others may prefer to have different themes in each room.
Sticking to a similar style in each room creates a sense of cohesion and organization. However, this might not be as important to you, and you probably want to give each room a different personality.
It all comes down to your personal preferences, so you should decide how differently you want to decorate the rooms when they’re separate.
5. Take functionality into account
Of course, it’s important to coordinate the lighting in the kitchen and dining room to create style and draw attention to certain aspects of the rooms. But functionality is just as important.
You want your rooms to look fantastic, but you also want them to have the right lighting so you can use the rooms when it’s dark.
For example, you may decide that you only want to have two ceiling lights between the dining room and kitchen and nothing else. In that case, you need to make sure that the only two lights and bulbs in the room can provide enough illumination. If they can’t, they might look good, but they won’t do their job properly.
Nowadays, there are so many options when it comes to light fixtures. There are smart bulbs that you can connect to the internet (which are energy-efficient), or you can install a dimmer and control the brightness of your lights.
Regardless of the style you choose, you’ll need to decide what bulbs you want to use and how many lights you need to properly illuminate your rooms. You may find that two ceiling lights are not enough and that you need to add more fixtures.
Don’t place fixtures too close together
When selecting fixtures for your kitchen and dining room, you’ll want to make sure there’s enough light to make the space bright. However, you don’t want to go overboard and clutter the room with lights.
To know how much space to leave between fixtures, Home Depot recommends dividing your ceiling height by two. That will give you the distance you should leave between fixtures.
If the fixtures are too close together, your rooms will have more brightness and light than necessary, and the rooms will appear bulky and overcrowded.
6. Mix and match fixtures in a stylish way
Once you know what styles you like, you can start planning where you want to place them. You can distribute C.T.C lights, a chandelier, and wall sconces between your kitchen and dining room, but make sure they have a similar style.
It can be fun to have different types of fixtures in your rooms, so always explore the fun side of mixing and matching! As long as you don’t choose contrasting colors and styles that are completely different from each other, your rooms will likely look beautiful in the end.
While it’s fun to combine the lights in your kitchen and dining room, you should never forget about your main focal points. Of course, it’s not necessarily necessary to have a fixture that focuses on one area, but many people like this idea.
So, if you want to draw attention to your beautiful dining table, placing a gorgeous traditional crystal chandelier above it, you’ll want to make sure all the other lights don’t detract from it!
It’s best not to have too much going on at once
It’s totally okay to have differently styled fixtures between your kitchen and dining room. But it’s also good not to go overboard! It’s okay to have two or three different styles of fixtures in one room, but you don’t want to have six or seven different styles; that can look distracting and easily chaotic.
To make your rooms look as pleasant and elegant as possible, try not to choose more than four or five types of fixtures.
Conclusion
Knowing exactly how to pair the lighting in your kitchen and dining room can be challenging. In many cases, it depends on personal preferences and style, but there are some things you should consider before choosing your fixtures.
The key things to keep in mind are:
- The style of your rooms will determine what fixtures you choose.
- There are many fixtures to choose from; try to mix and match.
- Don’t use fixtures that look too different.
- Select a unique fixture for your focal point(s), like a chandelier.
- Functionality is also important.