Dining Room Lighting

Dining room lighting has one job that most fixtures get wrong: to light the table and the faces around it, not the ceiling. Teeshaa makes pendants, clusters, linear suspensions and ring chandeliers in Spanish alabaster for exactly this position, each designed in Bangalore and made in our own facilities in India. Several pieces are ready to order online; the larger compositions are made to order on enquiry, with the drop cut to your room before dispatch.

why alabaster for a dining room.

At a dining table people face each other for an hour at a time, often with the light between them. That makes glare the first problem to solve. Stone solves it completely. The lamp inside an alabaster piece is never seen; what you see is the stone itself, lit through, with no hot spot in anyone's eyeline.

The light that comes through is warm and soft, 2700K as standard, and it does for faces and food what candlelight does. Dimmed for dinner, a piece looks like a candle held inside stone. Turned up, it lights the whole table for homework or a long lunch.

Each piece is cut from a different block. The clouding and veining of that block become the pattern of the light, so no two pendants are the same, and a cluster or a linear piece is assembled from parts we have matched for colour, clouding and transmission so it reads as one.

The trade-offs are real. Alabaster is soft, needs dry care, and costs more than glass. The larger pieces are made to order and take a few weeks. For the one light in the house that people look at every evening, we think the stone earns it.

choosing dining room lighting.

• Height: the lowest point of the piece 75 to 90 cm above the tabletop. Measure from the finished ceiling, cove included, not the slab.
• Shape: round or square tables take one piece, one half to two thirds of the table's width. Rectangular tables of 180 to 240 cm take a linear piece about two thirds of the length, or two to three pendants spaced 60 to 75 cm apart.
• Position: centre on the table, not the room. Move the ceiling point before the false ceiling closes.
• Ceilings: most Indian apartments finish at 2.6 to 2.8 m after a cove, which suits compact pendants and rings. Villas at 3 m and above carry clusters and taller compositions.
• Colour temperature: 2700K on most pieces; the Aura Chandelier offers 2000K, 2300K or 3000K. For an evening room, warmer is better.
• Dimming: specify it at the time of order. Add discreet downlights on a separate circuit if you need bright task light; the stone piece is for the meal.

the pieces.

The Aura Chandelier is for round tables of 150 to 180 cm and square eight-seaters: about 100 cm wide and 91 cm high, with radial alabaster shades on a circular frame and a choice of 2000K, 2300K or 3000K. Made to order on enquiry.

The Essenzo Linear Suspension P4 runs four domed diffusers along a single bar for rectangular tables of 180 to 240 cm. The Alabaster Linea H does the same job with horizontal columns of stone, each cut from a single block, for a quieter, more architectural line. Both are ready to order.

The Halo Crown Chandelier is the ring: a continuous band of lit alabaster on a 4 cm tube, 60 cm ready to order for tables up to 120 cm, with 80, 100 and 120 cm made to order for larger round tables.

The Essenzo Pendant Cluster P5 gathers five domes across 112 cm, on E27 lamps at 2700K, for a square or generous round table where you want the light to have depth rather than a single plane.

specifying and ordering.

Pieces marked ready to order can be bought online; tell us the drop and the rod is cut to it. Enquiry pieces, the Aura Chandelier, the larger Halo sizes and all large formats, are confirmed by email or phone: send the table dimensions, finished ceiling height and a photograph of the room and we come back with size, drop and lead time.

Finishes vary by piece; most offer Champagne Gold, Brass Gold, Black and White for the canopy and fittings. Light sources are integrated LED on most pieces and E27 on the Essenzo clusters. 2700K is standard, dimming is on request, and drivers sit remote or in the canopy. Suspension is on stainless rod or wire cut to your room.

Lead time is typically 3 to 4 weeks, and every piece ships worldwide. Architects and designers can request drawings, finish samples and project terms through the Trade Programme; for a table that needs its own length or composition, see Bespoke.

frequently asked questions.

How high should dining room lighting hang above the table?

Set the lowest point of the pendant or chandelier 75 to 90 cm above the tabletop, which is 150 to 165 cm from the floor with a standard 75 cm table. Use the lower end under a 2.6 to 2.7 m finished ceiling and the upper end at 3 m and above. Teeshaa rods and wires are cut to this drop before dispatch.

Which Teeshaa piece suits a long rectangular table?

A linear piece that runs about two thirds of the table's length. The Essenzo Linear Suspension P4 and Alabaster Linea H both follow a 180 to 240 cm table and light it evenly from end to end. For longer tables, two pieces centred over each half, or a bespoke length, works better than one oversized form.

Can I dim alabaster dining room lights?

Yes. Dimming is available on request on every piece and should be specified at the time of order so the driver is matched. Most pieces are 2700K; the Aura Chandelier is offered at 2000K, 2300K or 3000K. At low output the stone looks like a candle held inside alabaster.

Does the pendant need to be centred in the room?

No. Centre it on the table. Dining tables are rarely centred in their rooms, and the light exists for the table, so the ceiling point should move to the table rather than the other way round. With a false ceiling the point can usually be relocated above the cove before it is closed.

Is alabaster safe above a dining table?

Yes, with simple care. Alabaster is a soft gypsum stone and should be dusted with a soft dry or lightly damp cloth, never sprayed with household cleaners. Keep it away from direct steam from a hob; above a dining table, normal food steam is not an issue. Follow the care guide supplied with the piece.

For the height rule worked through by ceiling height, with a table of drops, read how high to hang a pendant over a dining table. The linear pendant and ring chandelier pages go deeper on the two most common shapes, and the alabaster lighting hub covers the whole range.