How To Accurately Pair Kitchen and Dining Room Lights

Giovanni Valle is a licensed architect and LEED-accredited professional and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He is the author and managing editor of various digital publications, including BuilderSpace, Your Own Architect, and Interiors Place.

Getting the lighting just right in your home can transform it into something magical! That’s why it is essential to know how to pair kitchen and dining room lights accurately.

Here are some tips on how to accurately pair kitchen and dining room lights:

Consider the style of the rooms.
Explore the different types of fixtures.
Choose one area you want to focus on.
Ensure the lighting doesn’t match completely.
Consider functionality.

The rest of this article will discuss these tips in greater detail. So, be sure to keep reading if you need help pairing the lights in your kitchen and dining room.

1. Consider the Style of the Rooms

The very first thing to consider is the style of your kitchen and dining room. Are the rooms bright and vibrant? Or are they mostly on the darker side? Maybe your dining room and kitchen are entirely separate, and one is bright while the other is dark.

Whatever the situation may be, you want to make sure your light fixtures match the style of your rooms.

For example, a minimalistic and modern-style kitchen and dining room would work best with sleek ceiling light fixtures.

A more traditional home may look better with an old-style chandelier on the other hand.

So, the style of your rooms and home will significantly impact the lighting you choose.

2. Explore the Different Types of Fixtures

There are many types of lighting fixtures to choose from, so you should certainly explore your options. You may think that you want a specific kind of light without even looking at other types, so you should always keep your choices (and eyes) open!

It would be impossible to discuss every type of light fixture because there are too many, but I’ll briefly discuss some examples of light fixtures below.

Crystal Chandeliers

Crystal chandeliers are traditional and stylish for many rooms. They will give any room a more formal and rich look, and the crystals will radiate from the bulbs’ light; this provides the space with an added layer of brightness.

Although crystal chandeliers are considered more ‘traditional’ and even ‘old-fashioned’ by some, they are popular amongst many homeowners, whether the room style is modern or old-style.

Since crystal chandeliers hang low, you should ensure your ceiling is high enough for the one you choose. You certainly don’t want it getting in the way or people’s heads banging into the crystals!

Pendant Lighting

Pendant lighting is another excellent choice, no matter the style of your rooms. These fixtures come in various styles, so the options are endless. One thing that remains consistent with all pendant light fixtures is length; all pendant lights are low-hanging.

These lights go well with any modern and fresh room, 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 light fixtures, C.T.C lights may be worth considering. These lights certainly won’t get in the way or risk injuring anyone, and they can fit in nicely in many rooms.

Wall Lights

Wall lights aren’t the most common choice, but many people like to pair them with ceiling lights. Not only do wall lights give off extra light, but they also add decoration to a room.

Instead of worrying about covering an empty wall with a painting, you can simply add a sleek wall light; functional and stylish!

3. Choose One Area You Want 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 areas of focus; one in the dining area and one in the kitchen.

Alternatively, you may only want one focal point. One of the most common areas people like to focus on is the dining room table. Traditionally, you would place a chandelier above the dining table rather than in the middle of the room.

This can help bring the room together, not to mention it focuses on the primary function of the dining room: a table for everyone to eat their delicious meals on!

If you decide to place your prominent fixture above the dining table, you should ensure that you measure it before adding it. You don’t want it to be so low that it gets in the way, but you don’t want it to be so high that it doesn’t have the wow factor you intended. Having it at the right height is essential in bringing the dining room together!

It’s perfectly acceptable to have a focal point in the dining room and kitchen if that’s what you want. If you have a chandelier above your dining table, you may also want to place a chandelier in the middle of your kitchen. Another place people like to draw attention to using a chandelier is the kitchen island.

Choose Different Fixtures

If you want to focus on an area in the kitchen and the dining room, you should choose different fixtures for each. This means you shouldn’t use the same chandelier for both rooms. You can go with a similar style but avoid copying fixtures.

Although you should choose different fixtures for both focal points, you should also ensure that they’re not too different (unless the rooms are entirely separate). If your dining room and kitchen are connected or part of one large room, you want the fixtures to be of a similar style.

Having two completely different styles can be distracting and may give the room a mismatched look; that’s certainly not what we’re going for!

4. Ensure the Lighting Doesn’t Match Completely

I mentioned it briefly when I discussed focal points, but it’s important to reiterate that the lighting you choose shouldn’t completely match. This doesn’t just apply to focus areas and chandeliers; it applies to all light fixtures.

For example, if you choose a pendant fixture in your kitchen area and want to have another pendant fixture in your dining area, you can certainly do that! However, it would be best to choose a different pendant fixture with a similar overall style.

Having the same fixtures in both rooms isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it can look slightly too uniform and boring. Changing it up a little is a great way to liven up your dining room and kitchen.

The Styles Shouldn’t Be Completely Different, Either

Having some differences between fixtures is excellent, but you don’t want to mix too many different styles as it can begin to look quite messy. Of course, if you like mixing styles and enjoy lots of variety, you should do it! 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 will likely look odd and confusing, and it may even be a distraction. You want your lights to attract attention for all the right reasons, after all.

Don’t Worry If Your Dining Room and Kitchen Are Separate

If your dining room and kitchen are not connected, and if both are independent rooms, you can undoubtedly go for different styles! Some people may want to stick with similar styles throughout their home, while others prefer to have different themes in each room.

Sticking with a similar style in each room creates a sense of cohesiveness and organization. However, you may not care so much about this, and so you’ll likely want to give each room a different personality.

It all boils down to personal preference, so you should decide how differently you want to decorate the rooms if they’re separate.

5. Consider Functionality

Of course, matching the lights in your kitchen and dining room is essential for style and to draw attention to certain aspects of the rooms. But functionality is just as necessary.

You want your rooms to look amazing, but you also want them to have the proper lighting so that you can use the rooms when it’s dark.

For example, you may decide that you only want two ceiling lights between the dining room and kitchen and nothing else. In this case, you need to ensure that the only two lights and bulbs in the room can adequately light it up. If they can’t, they may look nice, but they won’t do their job correctly.

Nowadays, there are so many options when it comes to light functionality. There are smart bulbs that you can connect to the internet (which are more energy-efficient), or you can install a dimmer switch and control the brightness of your light that way.

Regardless of the style you choose, you need to decide what bulbs you plan on using and how many lights you’ll need to light up your rooms. You may realize that two ceiling lights won’t be enough and that you will need to add more fixtures.

Don’t Place Fixtures Too Close Together

When choosing light fixtures for your kitchen and dining room, you want to make sure there are enough lights for the room to be bright. However, you don’t want to get carried away and crowd the room with lights.

To know how much space you should leave between light fixtures, Home Depot recommends dividing your ceiling height by two. The figure you get from this is the amount of space you should leave between fixtures.

Having fixtures too close together will give your rooms more brightness and light than they need, and it will also make the rooms look clunky and too crowded.

6. Mix and Match Fixtures In a Stylish Way

Once you know which styles you like, you can begin planning where to place them. You can have C.T.C lights, a chandelier, and wall lights spread between your kitchen and dining room, but make sure they’re of a similar style.

It can be fun to have different types of fixtures in your rooms, so you should always explore the fun side of mixing and matching! As long as you’re not choosing contrasting colors and styles that are entirely different from each other, your rooms will likely look beautiful in the end.

Although it’s fun to mix and match the lights in your kitchen and dining room, you should never forget about your main points of focus. Of course, it’s not entirely necessary to have a fixture that focuses on a focal point, but many people like this idea.

So, if you want to draw attention to your beautiful dining table by placing a gorgeous traditional crystal chandelier above it, you want to make sure all the other lights don’t take away from this!

It’s Best Not to Have Too Much Going on at Once

It’s perfectly OK to have differently styled fixtures between your kitchen and dining room. But it’s also good not to go overboard! Having two or three different fixture styles in a room is fine, but you don’t want to have six or seven different styles; this can start to get distracting and may look slightly messy.

To keep your rooms looking as pleasant and elegant as possible, try to choose no more than four or five types of fixtures.

Conclusion

It can be challenging to know precisely how you should pair the lighting in your kitchen and dining room. In many cases, it’s down to personal preference and style, but there are some things to note before choosing your fixtures.

The most important things to remember are:

The style of your rooms will determine which fixtures to choose.
There are many fixtures to choose from; try to mix and match.
Don’t have fixtures that look too different from each other.
Choose a unique fixture for your focal point(s), such as a chandelier.
Functionality is also important.