Indoor lighting plays an important, obvious role throughout your home- it is used for general light for reading, watching television, for computer work, for dining and so forth.
However, there are certain rooms like the dining room, in which the lighting can play a large part being both functional and in helping to set a relaxed and intimate mood.
Dining, whether with friends or family, is an enjoyable activity and meals which have been specially prepared for special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays, inviting friends over and anniversaries, amongst other occasions, are made all the more enjoyable and memorable because of the great food cooked, the fantastic company and, believe it or not, your lighting plays a subtle but vital element to this festive occasion, whatever it may be.
Accessories such as tableware, flowers and your crockery all emphasize the importance of the meal you are sharing on this particular occasion.
And just as significant as these factors is how you have set up your lighting.
It is quite common at dining tables, to have candelabra or other candlestick holders, or just plain free standing candles, to provide subtle lighting which sets an intimate mood.
Nowadays, there are many other alternatives available that will provide the same level of low lighting and are much safer than candles.
The slight disadvantage to having candles is that unless they are kept in glass goblets, there is a risk of your diners singeing their sleeves or knocking candles over accidentally and hence scorching the tablecloth.
In any case, there is always a worry with a naked flame.
Instead, why not complement candle light with other extra lighting in the room? Whilst it is ideal and stunning to have glass candleholders and glass goblets to hold your candles on the table, you can set the mood by using low voltage lighting in different parts of the dining room.
Recessed downlights are very effective at directing a beam of light downwards onto an small area or object, so they do not provide much in the way of general light, but subtle streams of light where needed.
A very effective solution is to have no lighting on the table itself but use just downlighters situated above the dining table.
Another style of lighting becoming increasingly popular in the kitchen and dining areas is the hanging pendant light.
This is a low hanging single source of light, usually suspended by one rod or chain from the ceiling and the light bulb itself is surrounded by a decorative lampshade.
Tiffany style stained glass lampshades are quite popular as they are decorative and colorful and conducive to setting a warm, intimate mood at the dining table.
When selecting the light source for your dining area, remember that the focus of the whole room should be the table as this is the area that will be decoratively laid out with your best tablecloth, cutlery and china and not forgetting the sumptuous feast itself.
Not only that but your table is the main area where you and your guests will gather for an hour or more to enjoy a long, leisurely meal, so you want the atmosphere to be relaxed and comfortable and to encourage free flowing conversation.
Pendant lighting is very effective for dining rooms because it focuses light on the one area that is vital - the dining table.
The ideal height to hang a pendant is not too high but to have it just above the eye-level of the diners.
The choice of pendant is also dictated by the size and type of your dining table.
A circular dining table will usually require just one pendant light whereas a long rectangular table will require two lights, one at each end.
Also, try to install a pendant light that uses dimmers as it is very handy to be able to turn down the light at will.