The protagonist of the home - the ceiling light

There are thousands and thousands of ceiling lights to choose from. Where to start?

- The first thing to do is to think about the ceiling light from a larger perspective; a home is a whole, the home's lighting a part of that whole and the ceiling light a part of your light needs, says Anna at Art of Light.

A ceiling light is never the basic light source that provides the general light in your home. Other light sources should do that job. Instead, you should see the ceiling light as a part of the interior design that adds that little extra, the decorative. After all, it often sits in the centre of the room and is visible from all angles. Therefore, it's the whole of the room that should determine which luminaire finally gets its rightful place on the ceiling. So stop for a moment, take in the room. See the size, the textiles, the furniture, the architecture and the ceiling height. So now you can start thinking about which ceiling light would be suitable. And use this guide to help you find your way through the jungle of models.

2097/50 Sarfatti, Mässing

Flos

Serpentine Light

Moooi

Viscontea

Flos

Never start with the ceiling light

Lighting your home is a bit like casting a character. The ceiling light often plays the main role, but cannot do without the other lighting characters to maximise the overall effect of the room. Therefore, always start with the detail light: the floor lamp, the window light, the wall light, the integrated light in the bookcase, etc. They add the different layers that make the room come alive. Once they are in place, you can complement them with a ceiling fixture, which has a decorative function rather than a lighting function.

Choose the luminous flux first

Normally, you might start with the luminaire, then buy a suitable light source, and out flows the light in your home. Start by thinking about how you want the light to flow. Simply put, your light needs. Do you want a 360-degree light that illuminates the entire room, a downward-directed light, an upward-directed light or focus on a particular wall?

The technical luminaire

Once you've landed the light requirement, it's time to think about how to achieve the desired light. Time for the light source itself. Always buy a light source with as high an RA (colour rendering) value as possible. Also consider the Kelvin value, i.e. how cold or warm you want the light to be. And invest in a light source with a dim-to-warm effect that makes the light warmer when you dim it down. This will give you the best light for both daylight and evening darkness. Many ceiling luminaires today are sold with a built-in light source. Since you can't choose the properties yourself, it's important to really find out how that luminaire illuminates your home, or invest in an integrated light source with a Tunable White function, where you control the colour rendering and colour temperature as needed.

And last (but not least) the decorative luminaire.

Once you've decided on your lighting needs and a suitable light source, it's time to choose the design. Now you have a more manageable range to choose from and know that the lamp will illuminate your home in the best possible way. Of course, personal taste is the key here. Should it harmonise with the architecture and interior design, or should it break away and become a rebel at home?

Light downwards, but also upwards

The basic idea of a ceiling light is that it should shine downwards. But a ceiling light in the centre of the room also needs to provide indirect upward light, which is reflected in the bright ceiling and makes the room appear larger. As so often with light, you can go outdoors for inspiration; the sky is always brighter than the ground, and you want to achieve the most natural feeling of light possible indoors.

Don't be dazzled

Many ceiling fixtures today have bare light sources, such as light globes or fixtures with spotlights or downlights. If you choose such a lamp for your ceiling, you need to think carefully. If you turn on full light on a naked light source or point a spotlight in the wrong direction, you will dazzle everyone in your home and create an uncomfortable feeling. All the light sources in the room need to play a bigger role and the ceiling light should shine at the right intensity.

Keep walkways and sightlines clear

A ceiling light takes up a lot of visual space in a room. Therefore, it needs to line up with the other elements of the room to create harmony. Line it up with a doorway or with other ceiling lights. And keep sight lines clear. When you're sitting on the sofa, you don't want the fixture to obscure a painting on the other side of the room. If you're sitting at the dining table, you want to see the person opposite you. And you definitely don't want to walk into a pendant that is too low.

Instead of thinking about rooms, think about surroundings

There are ingrained beliefs about which luminaires are suitable for which rooms: the plafond in the hallway, the chandelier in the living room and the pendant over the dining table in the kitchen are some examples. Instead of getting stuck on the name of the room, think about the surroundings and your needs and the result will be better, and more interesting.Since white colour reflects 95% of the light and black colour absorbs 95%, you need twice as much lighting in a dark room. This is often a bedroom, but not always. A small room needs a small lamp, which illuminates the walls and makes the room feel bigger. A room where you mirror yourself always needs a complementary light source straight from the mirror. It can be in a bathroom, but not always. In a room where you socialise, a pendant light is often recommended to create a cosy atmosphere. It can be in a kitchen, but not always.

And don't get the ceiling in your head

In a large room with high ceilings, a really big ceiling fixture can be powerful. But it's important that you don't just attach it to a lamp hook, but get help with the construction so that the ceiling holds. There have been cases where lamps have taken the entire ceiling down with them.

2097/50 Sarfatti Chrome

Flos

Zeppelin

Flos

Mesh D86

Luceplan