Light, Chosen by the Room: New Pendants and Chandeliers

The right light depends less on the lamp than on the room: length over a long table, volume in an entrance, a soft glow beside a bed.

11 new designs join the lighting range at Dantone Home, and the simplest way through them is by what each one does in a room. Long linear lights suit a table or an island. Chandeliers bring volume to an entrance or a high-ceilinged room. A soft round pendant works for a calmer corner.

A long dining table or a kitchen island is poorly served by a single central pendant – the ends fall into shadow. A linear light follows the length of the surface instead, so the whole table is lit evenly from one end to the other.

Five of the new pieces work this way, and they differ mostly in register. The Clementia pendant runs a row of slim white cones along a brass-toned rod. Cadence hangs four frosted ceramic bowls for a softer, diffused light. Avian sits low, its four olive-gold shades tilted along a dark bar. Anza is the most restrained of all: a single thin line of LED, barely two centimetres deep. Amani sets six pleated linen shades at alternating heights, the most decorative of the five.

Where a room has height – an entrance, a stairwell, a double-height living room – a chandelier earns its place. It works in three dimensions, giving the space a centre and filling the volume above eye level.

The four new chandeliers take this in different directions. Calliope is the most classical: curved bronze arms and beige linen shades, tall enough at over a metre and a half to hold a stairwell or a high entrance. Nimbus works horizontally rather than tall: eight bronze arms spread 122 cm wide, with beige linen shades, sized for a long dining table or a wide room. Adelaide is architectural: two tiers of white cones on a clean frame, drawn more like a structure than an ornament. The Clementia chandelier sends its white cones outward in a radial sweep, a sculptural counterpart to the Clementia pendant, for rooms that need volume rather than length.

Not every room needs a centrepiece overhead. A round pendant gives a soft, even light and a simple round form that sits quietly above a bed, a seating area, or a round table. Three of the new pieces work this way: two soft fabric drums and one sleeker disc in metal and glass.

Murray is the range's fabric drum: a pleated fabric shade in white, in two sizes. At 85 cm across it suits a living room or a generous bedroom; at 56 cm it works in something more contained. The pleating catches the light along its folds, so even unlit the shade keeps its texture.

Octavia is the smaller, plainer drum – a white shade on a bronze fitting, 46 cm across, for a bedroom or a dining nook. Riu is the outlier: a low bronze disc in metal and glass, only 10.5 cm deep, its brass-lined interior throwing a warm glow downward. Where the drums soften the light, Riu keeps it crisp and contained, and its flat profile suits a low ceiling or an island.

1. On hanging height. Over a dining table, a pendant usually sits about 75 cm above the surface: low enough to light it, high enough to keep sightlines clear across the table.
2. On the light itself. A warm bulb, around 2700K, suits living spaces, while cooler light reads colder. Most of these fittings take standard E27 or E14 bulbs, so the colour is yours to choose.
3. On brightness. More sockets means more light: the eight-socket Murray or Adelaide give more than the four-socket Avian or Cadence.
4. On dimming. A dimmable bulb and switch let one fitting move from task light to a low evening glow. Anza and Riu are LED, so pair them with a compatible dimmer.
5. On where they go. These are indoor fittings, not rated for bathrooms or outdoor use.

Lighting a whole home is easier planned together than piece by piece, and the Dantone Home designers can map it room by room: which fitting goes where, and at what height.