Skip to content
The installation process of lighting in your home
Choosing the right lighting style to finish that build or renovation can be exceedingly difficult and time-consuming, but once you have made that purchase, I bet you can wait to see how it will look in your home.
Firstly, you must consider who will be installing the light and how involved the assembly of the light or chandelier be.
Although it’s very tempting to try and install the light fixture yourself, please consider your safety and always call an electrician when it comes to playing with electricity; it’s not worth the money you save to put your life at risk, but if you want to save yourself some money try to assemble as much of the pendant or chandelier as possible so that you’re not paying an unnecessary electrician money for a job you could have done yourself. Also, some electricians will charge you extra if they know they must assemble most of the lights.
How to clean your crystal chandelier
If you have purchased a crystal chandelier, try to dress the chandelier entirely with all the crystals, which can be very time consuming, also this will give you a chance to give the crystal pendants an excellent clean; the best way to clean crystal beads or drops is to use a lint-free cloth glove or a lint-free cloth, using a spray bottle add some water mixed with mentholated spirits two parts water 1 part mentholated spirits Spray the crystal pieces liberally and using the fabric or glove wipe each piece individually, they will sparkle like diamonds.
If time is of the essence and you don’t have time to clean every crystal individually, you can you another method, the drip method, where you place newspaper on the floor under the crystal chandelier, and you can liberally spray the crystal chandelier with the same solution making sure you completely saturated every drop, and then you allow the liquid to drip off and dry on its own; this method will still clean your crystal tremendous but can leave some streaks, therefore, wipe each piece by hand is always going to produce the best results.
Consider maintenance of the complex to get to lighting.
Suppose you install a generous-sized pendant or crystal chandelier in your staircase void. In that case, you may want to consider how you are going to get to the light fitting for maintenance reasons changing globes, cleaning, etc. try to install the light so you can get access to it from the second level or if that’s not going to work you can ask the electrician to install a winch system in the roof cavity so you can lower the pendant or chandelier down to the ground for maintenance purposes. Also, if your pendant or chandelier can take LED globes, they would be your best choice as these globes should last much longer than your standard globe, and not to mention they consume a lot less electricity which will save you money.
Dining room lighting installation
The next thing to think about is the position and height of the light fittings or chandeliers; if you are planning to install the light fitting over a dining room or meals room table, it is recommended to have the pendant or chandelier hang around 1 to 1.3 metre above the table, this allows for the light fitting to be showcased and creates a beautiful ambiance in the room, depending on the shape of the table you may also want to buy a light fitting which will accommodate, so if your table is rectangular shaped try to find a light fixture which it longer, same if your table is square you may want to install a square or round light fixture. I always recommend installing a dimmer switch on the leading light so you can get that perfect setting when entertaining your guests; also, having some lovely wall lights and Table Lamps or Floor Lamps will complement the style of the room and give you another option for your dinner parties.
The general height for the installation of pendant lights
Also, consider the height you would like the light fittings to hang in the rest of the house; if you walk under light fittings, you will have enough clearance so you don’t knock your head on it. Some new homes built these days have very low-lying ceilings, so you may need to consider buying flush-mounted lights or chandeliers or what some vendors call “Close to Ceiling” lighting; there are many of these types of Light fixtures available now. You could also use an Oyster Light; some beautiful Oyster lights are also available and are primarily geared with LED light strips or globes.
Installing Kitchen Bench Lighting
Installing kitchen over bench lights can also seem to be a little tricky, but it’s pretty simple; if you have, say, a bench that spans 3 metres and you would like to install three pendants to hang over it, measure in around 50-60cm from each end of your bench and that’s where you would install to two end lights. Then the third light will go in the middle equally spaced, giving you excellent light coverage. Also, installing over-bench kitchen lights instead of having a central light in your kitchen will eliminate shadowing caused by having the light behind you instead of directly over your head. Where your workspace is, you could also complement the rest of the kitchen with some directional downlights placed over sinks, ovens, and cooktops.
Can I use Downlights and Pendant Fixtures in the same room?
Another question that has been asked so many times is whether Downlights can be installed in the same room with a pendant light as a showpiece in the middle of the room and if it will look out of place. The answer is that it is perfectly fine; you would install the downlights on a separate switch to the pendant light so you can create a different ambiance in the room if needed. Also, use a dimmer switch on both lights for that extra special effect; firstly, mark out your downlight layout on the ceiling, and then you can position the pendant light right in the middle of the room, possibly leaving out one of the downlights if they are position in the middle.