Traditionally, dining rooms were separate rooms closed off from the rest of the home, where families only gathered to share meals. Toda
y, many home designs are trending toward open floor plans where the dining room is part of an open floor living plan, including both the living room and kitchen area. The dining room may serve a variety of functions including providing a space where children gather to do their homework or as a safe, supervised space for toddlers when their parents are cooking meals. Many homeowners also use the area as a casual office for computer work or simply as a general gathering space to talk about everyone’s day after school and work. With a room that serves so many functions, it is important to consider which lighting options can provide the proper illumination for a variety of tasks, while still providing beauty and style to such an important area of the home.
Function
Whenever a homeowner decides to upgrade the lighting features of their dining room, consider all the functions the room serves. It might be tempting to select a single grand chandelier, but that doesn’t serve a dining area very well if it doesn’t provide adequate illumination to clean up messes made by small toddlers. When a room serves several functions, a better approach is to have multiple sources of lighting options. Recessed lighting is a great choice for the dining room as it provides illumination to all the nooks and crannies that a single overhead light would miss. Wall sconces are another good choice for the dining area to help add style and ambiance for meals and family gatherings. Track lighting can highlight an important feature of the dining area such as a china cabinet or breakfast nook. Lastly, chandeliers or pendant lighting can still offer an important purpose by adding that “wow” factor in the dining area when homeowners want to impress guests or they simply want to add a sense of warmth to family meals.
Style
Since the dining area is connected to the kitchen and living rooms in an open floor plan, it is important to consider the overall style of the rooms as a whole. Whether the kitchen and living areas have a modern, industrial or rustic feel, the dining area lighting should generally be part of an overall theme. In some cases however, it is possible to blend a couple of different styles together to add visual interest. For example, some of the smaller crystal chandeliers look amazing in an otherwise industrial setting, offering a touch of softness and warmth particularly inviting for sharing meals together.
If you’d like to know more about how to select both functional and stylish lighting features for your open floor dining area, please contact us.