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A dining room is a medium-sized room where people gather to eat meals and connect with family. It is often the central hub of seasonal celebrations, dinner parties and daily dining. Featuring a large dining table and several dining room chairs, the dining room can also be used for other purposes where the larger table surface comes in handy, such as playing board games or arts and crafts. A dining room might also feature display cabinets, sideboards, buffets and storage benches.

The Lighting you'll need in a Dining Room

The dining room features a family-sized table and chairs, slim furniture at the side of the room for storage and display, perhaps a large clock or mirror or painting, extra seating and sometimes display cabinets for fine china and other collectibles. People typically pass through the room to and from the kitchen, or sit at the table. Adapting your lighting choices to how people will use the room is important.

Overhead ceiling lights are important for lighting up a dining room. Since the room usually features a table, a large central light fixture hanging over the table is a popular choice. Since people walk around the table, other light fixtures such as wall lights would be placed towards the sides or corners of the room.
Chandeliers and pendants can be mounted as decorative ceiling lights over the dining table. Since the table is below, most rooms have tall enough ceilings to allow room for an elaborate large light fixture such as a dining room chandelier, which adds elegance to any gathering or meal.
Island lights are similar to pendants and chandeliers but with lights arranged in a row instead of around a circle. These are ideal for longer rectangular dining room tables.
Semi-flush or flush-mounted lights also work well close to the ceiling and also leave plenty of headroom for walking underneath. Remember you'll need lighting over the table to focus on tasks.
Recessed "pot" lights can be used for a very minimalist look, recessed into the ceiling. They shine downwards in a focused area so you'll need several fixtures to light up a dining room.
Wall sconces can be added at the sides of the room, especially near doors or behind seating areas, to add extra ambience. They can work alongside larger light fixtures or independently for a softer and more comfortable mood.
Torchiere lamps can add some extra light toward the sides or corners of the dining room. They don't take up much floor space and will shine light upward and reflect off the ceiling for extra ambience. See also tall floor lamps if the room is larger or has a separate seating area.
Use a buffet lamp if you have a narrower side table or buffet, since they are designed to be taller and narrower. The lamp can be switched on or off independently.
Accent lighting can be added. For example spot lights can shine focused light in a specific direction, to e.g. light up a piece of wall art or furniture. Accent lamps can also add novelty touches at the sides of the room.

dining room light fixtures

The use of Lighting in your Dining Room

The main function of your lighting should be to help people to see in the dark, especially in the evening and at night. Make sure you have a way to brightly light the room when needed, even if you have softer light for other occasions.

Also consider where in the room people will spend the most time and what they will be doing there. In a dining room most of the time will be spent walking through to a kitchen, accessing storage cabinets, or sitting around the table.

Ambient Lighting is when the light is bright and spreads out in generally all directions, lighting up most of the room. Ambient light can also be background light. It is less focused and more diffused. Ceiling lights and wall lights can create ambient lighting.
Task Lighting is when the light is more focused into a smaller area, possibly aimed in its direction, and is used when performing tasks. This is less of a problem in a dining room because the main light fixture provides a lot of light and most tasks are performed at the table.
Accent Lighting comes from small accents of light generally in the background. This are the finishing touches such as small novelty lamps, can lights, spot lights, accent lamps and other decorative lighting. The amount of light output is usually less and limited to a smaller area such as sitting on side-boards, buffets or a mantel.

dining room lighting

Where to put Lighting in a Dining Room

Main Light Fixtures

In a dining room the dining table will probable be the central focus, so is best lit by an overhead ceiling light such as a chandelier, pendant light or an island light. As an alternative, semi-flush mount lights or flush-mount lighting will also work, but will be less decorative.

If the room or the table is longer than square, consider breaking it up the space into sections like rectangles, with one light in the center of each. A longer table could accommodate two or more pendant lights. Centrally positioned lights will emit light in all directions and light up most of the room.

Secondary Light Fixtures

To complement the main light fixture and provide additional layers and levels of light, add a couple of wall sconces on a wall near to seating. These can also double as mood lighting for a more intimate family gathering or special occasion. Extra pendant lights might also be useful for highlighting part of the room.

Also consider floor lamps or torchieres, which usually give off brighter light than other types of lamps. These can be positioned in corners or ends of the room, or next to seating to light up dark areas.

Task Light Fixtures

In a dining room, task lighting is less of an emphasis. Most tasks are communal and revolve around a central table, which is well lit with a ceiling light. There tend not to be large padded chairs such as in a living room, and usually people will sit at the table to perform activities.

If the dining room features a separate comfortable seating area, you might consider some pendants or wall sconces nearby to help provide some focused light when needed, or a floor lamp positioned alongside.

Consider eyesight and glare

When placing lighting in a dining room, light is emitted from light bulbs. The light may or may not be covered in all directions and part of the bulb may be exposed. For example, sitting below a ceiling light with exposed bulbs that shines downward may shine into people's eyes who are sitting nearby. Considering shielding the eyes from direct glare by choosing a light fixture with shades or diffusers around the bulbs.

Think about what direction the light will shine and what the line of sight will be. Different shade shapes will also influence the angle at which the bulbs might be seen.

dining room lighting fixtures

How much Lighting does your Dining Room need?

The amount of light needed in a dining room is usually at a higher level compared to other rooms. Also the size of the room and the natural lighting coming in through windows will affect the amount of light needed.

Light is best measured in lumens, which is a measure of how much light reaches a surface at a given distance. In general it means "brightness" in a standardized way. You'll need to calculate an idea of how much light you want in the room, and then try to aim to achieve this across your light fixtures and lamps.

A general approach is as follows:

Measure the length and width of the room in feet..
Multiply the two numbers to get the "square feet".
Multiply the square feet by the amount of lumens needed per square foot for the room - for a dining room this is 30-40 lumens per square foot.

For example in an 16 x 14 foot dining room:

16 x 14 = 224 square feet.
224 x 30 = 6720 total lumens on the low end.
224 x 40 = 8960 lumens on the high end.

In terms of light bulbs: A single 60-watt incandescent light bulb outputs about 800 lumens. If you were using purely 60-watt bulbs, you'd need at least e.g. 6720 / 800 = 8.4 light bulbs minimally, up to 8960 / 800 = 11.2 bulbs maximally. So roughly 8 to 12 light bulbs at 60 watts each would be needed for a dining room.

dining room ceiling lights