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Pendant Lighting Unleashed

8 years ago

Is this an appropriate use of pendant lights? The reason I ask is because sometimes things look "wrong" to me until I get used to them. It also bothers me that the heights are not staggered, the individual units seem too small for the space and it draws my eyes where I don't want a focal. But whatdoiknow. I picture pendants over counters and islands or reading areas, but maybe their use is broader than my experience.

This is not my house, but I know the room is relatively small and a pass-through area. That is a hall to the left, the kitchen is to the right, and French doors access to the patio is behind the photographer. Most of these homes use track lighting along the beam. Our house has a similar lighting situation, so I am exploring options. Am I correct to rule pendants out?

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User

8 years ago

OMG, I dont care for the pendants there at all, staggered or not staggered.

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Comments (9)

joaniepoanie
8 years ago
I agree it looks odd. Are those steps down to the French doors? If so, it would make more sense and look better to have a single pendant near the French doors, like in the foyer.
gyr_falcon thanked joaniepoanie
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gyr_falcon
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for confirming it isn't just me thinking they looked odd. lol

The stairs go to the front door shown in the photo. The ceiling slopes starting with the pendant light beam (about 11') to 7' height behind the photographer, where the patio doors are located. Our lighting situation is complicated by having a skylight in the center of the room. We have one torchiere floor lamp, but that is insufficient at night when we occasionally need to read something.
Annie Deighnaugh
8 years ago
Not good.
gyr_falcon thanked Annie Deighnaugh
zorroslw1
8 years ago
Looks off to me.
gyr_falcon thanked zorroslw1
monicakm_gw
8 years ago
I don't care for the pendants there either but I do know what you mean about wondering if something looks wrong simply because I'm not use to it yet.
gyr_falcon thanked monicakm_gw
xclusive
8 years ago
Not good(that's my opinion of course so take it for what it's worth) :)
gyr_falcon thanked xclusive
busybee3
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
i don't care for them either... i also don't like the pendant lights they chose- they don't go with the scrolls on the banister and front door. i wouldn't like track lighting there tho either!

maybe staggered, more traditional style pendants would look better- if i were to hang pendants there i would probably increase the # and try grouping them closer together and vary their lengths as well as their mount placement so they weren't hanging in a straight line- don't know if that would look better, but it would probably be more interesting to look at at least!
gyr_falcon thanked busybee3
gyr_falcon
Original Author
8 years ago
So far everyone has been in agreement. I'm also not a fan of track lighting, but that is what came with the house and it at least works. Can lights over the sitting area would do the job, but that would be pricy and challenging DIY, for another solution that isn't really attractive and we don't often use for more than a 15-30 minutes per day.

It is a tricky problem, as we have a lot of furniture already packed in there, and I don't really want to obstruct the sight lines to the garden (we have a 10' wide slider where this house's French doors are located). Maybe I will experiment with finding a much brighter floor light for behind the seating, and hiding the torchiere floor lamp behind the entertainment center, for when we just need a little room illumination.

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