LIGHTING TYPES | PENDANTS

A Pendant is an ornamental, hanging, ceiling fixture with no multiple arms (like that of a chandelier). Since it looks like an ornament for your home, it is known as a pendant.

TYPES OF PENDANTS:

There are three basic types of pendant lighting and they give you an amazing amount of flexibility:  

Conventional Pendant: First are pendants where the open side of the shade or glass faces down.

• Inverted Pendant: Second would be inverted pendants where the open side of the glass faces up.  

• Mini Pendant: And third is a mini pendant which, as you would imagine means a smaller version of the pendant or ornament.

PENDANT USAGE:

Pendants can be used to great effect for 'general lighting' as well as 'task lighting'.  

• Conventional Pendants: A pendant in the Foyer can be a great introduction to your home.  If you have a Foyer window in your home, centering a pendant in the window also adds elegance to your home from the street.  

• Inverted pendants: are also an excellent choice over the table in a breakfast nook, dinette or kitchen island. They can provide both general illumination or create focused task lighting depending on your need.  For this reason, Inverted Pendant lighting is also a good choice over game tables or desks.  Even over a bedside table, Inverted Pendants have an advantage over table lamps in that, they free up space on small or crowded tables.

• Mini Pendants: open up a whole new world of design options.  A single mini pendant can be used to create 'ambient light' in an area or to provide 'task lighting' in a key spot.  Using multiple mini pendants, either hung at the same height or staggered, can create a beautiful lighting display as well as provide excellent 'task lighting'.  This is a good option over kitchen islands, counters or bar areas. 

PENDANT STYLES:

Pendant lighting, whether it is conventional pendants, inverted pendants or mini pendants come in a wide variety of styles and colours.  Pendants come in matching families, so coordinating the lighting in your home becomes easier.

PENDANT LIGHTING FOR KITCHEN:

• Besides the general lighting guidelines, the kitchen islands, areas over the sink and counter tops call for more concentrated lighting since they are essentially, work areas. 
• To calculate the amount of wattage needed over these workareas, multiply the area’s square footage by 2.5. The product you get is the required wattage.  
• A decorative pendant with 2 or 3 shades (depending on the size of the island) can be installed over your island for sufficient light and to add a decorative element to that area.

PENDANT LIGHTING FOR DINING AREA:

• Normally, a decorative pendant or a Chandelier with  a downlight will do the job while providing plenty of light on the table surface.  
• Use a dimmer to soften the light for mood dining when entertaining and to brighten for homework, hobbies, etc. when needed.  
• The bottom of the pendant should be at least 30” above the table to prevent accidental bumping of heads and for the right amount and spread of light.  
• Normally, 100 watts is sufficient for this area.

Read about other LIGHTING TYPES such as:

• CEILING LIGHTS
• CHANDELIERS
• WALL LIGHTS
• BATH LIGHTS
• PORTABLES
• OUTDOOR LIGHTS

Related Topics:

• LIGHTING