How To Get The Best Out Of Pendant Lighting In Your Cafe

pendant lightWhile it’s true that pendant fixtures have become the lighting of choice for many cafes, bistro’s, and restaurants, not every establishment makes the best use of them. By being aware of a few basic guidelines, you can avoid getting it horribly wrong and instead look to enhance your décor and ambience further. Let’s take a closer look.

Think about the purpose of your lighting

Firstly you’ll need to consider whether your pendant lightning is going to provide ambient or task-based lighting. This is one aspects that many venue owners get wrong and instead of enhancing the experience for the customer and the staff, it ends up a hotchpotch of lighting which inevitably does neither. For example if you have a servery or counter where you have all your home made cakes and goodies, you might want to look at positioning clusters or rows of pendant lighting over it in order to showcase the quality of your food.

Alternatively if the lighting is for ambient effect, you’ll want to make sure that it’s bright enough to do the job of say lighting up a particular recess or corner, but not too bright that it detracts from the fact that it’s a cosy welcoming space.

Think about hanging height

The best pendant lighting works when it’s placed at the right height. So what is that? Ideally it needs to be a minimum or 18inches above the head of the tallest person. For example, if you say on average that the tallest customer is going to be a little over 6 feet then you should be looking to hang it somewhere between 7’5 and 8 feet above the ground. For best results, and to add a sculptural element to your interior, it needs to be within the sight line. Place it too high and any ambient or task focused lighting is watered down. Alternatively, place it too low and the consequences will be too painfully obvious – ouch!

Use different lighting strengths

Where many cafes go wrong with pendant fittings is that they use the same strength of lighting all the way through their establishment. The problem with this is that it creates a flat, one-dimensional look that isn’t particularly inspiring. Alternatively differing strengths of lighting provide shading and contrast. This in turn gives the perception of depth. In doorways and over signage for example, stronger pendent lighting works best for obvious reasons, but in recesses softer pendant lighting gives an air of cosiness and intrigue.

If you’re looking to enhance the look of your cafe with pendant lighting then by following these basic guidelines you won’t go far wrong.

At Cafe Furniture Melbourne we have a small selection of tasteful pendant lighting available for you to browse and buy so why not take a look at out website and see what we have to offer. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or need further lighting advice, then contact us directly on 03 9357 9688 and talk to our friendly experienced team who are more than happy to help.

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