How to Choose Pendant Lights

Choose a pendant by deciding what it should do in the room, then test its size, position and light. The form should feel at home in daylight and bring the atmosphere you want after dark.

Choosing pendant lights: start with purpose

Some lights illuminate a task; others give a room its general light or create a focal point. Our pendants bring decorative and ambient light, with separate task lighting where reading or preparation needs it. Compare ambient and task lighting before choosing the shape.

Explore our pendant lighting collection with that role in mind.

We make our bamboo kitset lights in New Zealand, with small pieces that assemble into an open form. You see the structure in daylight and its pattern on the room after dark.

We are a certified B Corp. The care we put into making our lights belongs alongside the pleasure of choosing a form you will enjoy living with.

Choose the room and the view

A light over a table belongs to the people gathered beneath it. A hallway or stairwell has different movement and clearance needs. Begin with the dining-table selection, kitchen-island guide or living-room forms for your setting.

Over a kitchen island, a pendant usually gives the island its centre while separate light reaches the worktop; compare one generous shade with a pair or a row along its length.

Look from the usual seats and the doorway, not only from directly below the fitting.

Test size and height together

Width, depth and openness all change how large a shade feels. Our size guide uses table proportions and full-size outlines to make that decision tangible. Then use the height guide to calculate the space for the whole fitting and its suspension.

Over a table, start with a shade around half to two-thirds of the table width. A 1200 mm-wide table suggests a 600 to 800 mm outline to test. Begin with the bottom of the shade around 800 to 900 mm above the surface, then check seated sightlines. These are visual starting points; open walkways and stairs need a separate clearance assessment.

One form or several?

A single shade gives a clear centre; a pair or cluster creates a relationship between forms. Compare multiple pendant arrangements and chandeliers versus pendants. If the room needs a clear ceiling or open view, consider alternatives over an island.

Compare an open, rounded form such as Coral with a broad, shallow Flax. A wide shade can be low in height, while a narrow form can need a long drop.

Choose the evening light

The bulb is part of the design. Clear and frosted sources change the shadow pattern, while colour temperature changes the appearance of the light. For a closer connection to natural forms and materials, explore our biophilic lighting guide.

Coral pendant casting geometric shadows across the ceiling of a sitting room — Coral carries its open geometry onto the ceiling around it.

Pendant lighting buying guide: three checks

Before ordering, check the whole fitting, including its height and suspension. Test the outline from your usual seat as well as from the doorway. Finally, keep brightness separate from shade size: a larger decorative form does not automatically give more useful light for a task.

Start here

Keep your room measurements, preferred models and a photograph together. They form a useful brief for our team and your installer.

Explore the guides

Follow the question that matters most to your room, then return here as the choices come together.

Find a form to live with

Find a form you want to live with in our pendant lighting collection. These proportions and hanging heights are recommendations that depend on your space; ask us for a free render visualisation using your exact room measurements to compare the final choices.