Just as lighting draws attention to actors on a stage, it must highlight and accommodate the various parts of the set in these sorts of rooms. At the same time, the lighting must play up the room’s best asset. It is necessary to focus adequate amounts of the right kind of light on various furniture groupings and, at the same time, complement and enhance he décor of the room. Reconciling these needs requires a combination of the three types of lighting (namely, general, task, and accent lighting).

In dining areas or those portions of multipurpose spaces that are used for dining, the chandelier is still the fixture of choice for good reason. Not only it is suitable and often even superior source of light, it is an exceptional decorative asset that can go a long way toward expressing the specific style of a room. A frothy crystal version adds elegance and grandeur to a space, while a rustic wrought-iron fixture can convey intimacy and warmth. Today, pendant fixtures are available in a broad range of styles and are used with the same frequency as the chandelier.

It is important to keep several considerations in mind when selecting a hanging light fixture for a dining area. The light fixture should complement the size and shape of the dining table as well as the décor of the room. Before electricity was commonplace, such lamps were fitted with candles and hung high over a table to eliminate the danger of fire, but now, a hanging fixture should be suspended about 30 inches (762 millimeters) above the table. If the light fixture has an open shade and bare bulbs, it should be suspended as high as necessary to avoid harsh glare in diners’ eyes, or a bulb with a silvered crown should be used to reduce glare. Also, the diameter of a hanging light should be at least a foot shorter than the table below it, and when the ceiling height is over 8 feet (2.4 meters), balance the space by raising the light fixture 3 inches (76.2 millimeters) for every additional foot of ceiling space. Tame dramatic but too-dazzling pendant fixtures and chandeliers with a dimmer control.

Finally, remember that no rule dictates the use of a hanging fixture. Recessed cans or tracks equipped with down lights can also be used to adequately light a dining table, which can be accented with flickering candles to change the ambience or mood.

Few of us realize all this when setting out to light our living areas. Traditionally, a standard-issue lighting plan has evolved for each of the public spaces in our homes. The living room contains several seating or activity areas, as it is a multipurpose space for most of us, and these are generally lit with floor lamps. An additional form of general illumination is usually present overhead, either in the form of tracks, a central ceiling fixture, or recessed cans. In dining areas, the dramatic pendant fixture or chandelier reigns supreme. In bedrooms, the bed or an easy chair off to one side is usually flanked with reading lamps, while the entire room is illuminated with a ceiling fixture. While this standard approach is tempting, it is not the most effective way to light a room.

In a perfect world, we would be able to address the lighting needs of a room before it is furnished, or even while its blueprints are still in on the drawing board, but in reality, it is impossible for most of us to start from scratch. We move in and out of residences with more frequency than ever before, sometimes physically altering them by installing the sort of lighting we need when we get there. Often, we address immediate lighting needs with store-bought fixtures, yet carefully planned alterations to lighting at any stage can radically improve a room from both a functional and an aesthetic perspective. When those rooms are the ones we use most of the time, these changes become even more meaningful.