Ceiling Lamps and Sconces perfect for Restaurants

We love to get together for lunch, dinner and above all, tapas by the light of the ceiling lamps and sconces. But have you ever wondered how this interesting Spanish custom began?

It was in the middle of the 13th century; in the inns where the stagecoaches and post office carriages (the ‘sillas de posta’) stopped, the guides and coachmen took the opportunity to drink wine and recover their strength with a snack. Soon, King Alfonso X the Wise ordered legal ordinances to oblige establishments to give tapas to these people, usually ham, which was served – and here you have the origin of the term – ‘covering’ the glass of wine, as explained in the book Introduction to the History of Bars and Restaurants.

Design changes everything​

Much has changed in the design of restaurants from then to now; back then, they were just taverns equipped with the minimum necessary to serve outsiders. Today however, they are sophisticated places where we go for pleasure, not necessity and the offer is so large that it is convenient to stand out from the rest and compete beyond the kitchen.

To do so, it is necessary to turn our establishment into a place where people are comfortable, yes, but also into a singular and unique corner that sets the diner’s imagination in motion, a place where the mere fact of entering is an experience.

After telling you about the trend in terraces that is sweeping, the simple plants that you can incorporate into the room to give it the jungle look that is so popular and telling you how to be inspired by the retro style that is a safe bet this season, now we tell you which ceiling lamps and sconces will make your restaurant shine like no other.

And it is an important topic, because lighting conditions people’s behavior, transmitting different sensations and moods. Therefore, it directly influences the experience that the diner will have in your restaurant and even the image that is made of it even before setting foot inside.

Ceiling lamps and sconces perfect to make your restaurant’s hall shine.

Each area of your restaurant should be provided with specific lighting. In the entrance hall and bar, for example, you will need about 100 lux in general rising to 300 in the cashier’s area and in points that require special lighting such as the tapas line, if there is one.

This should be a very well-lit area, with much brighter and more striking light than the dining area. This will not only attract the customer’s attention from the outside; it will also ‘explain’ to them where they should go to wait for their table.

So, for the hall, it might be appropriate to use a retro-style ceiling lamp like King, with a brass-finished metal structure and no less than nine spherical opal glass lampshades. Its Art Deco air is absolutely fashionable, and elegantly dresses up any space in which it is placed.

And if you are looking to give prevalence to the bar area where you have placed the tapas or pintxos, you can choose to attract attention with luminaires suspended over the area. Gran Café Big, the retro vintage style ceiling lamp with metal structure, brass plated finish and spherical opal glass shade can be an option to consider.

How to light the restaurant dining room?

In the dining room you have complete freedom to use light as you prefer, always bearing in mind that it will be one of the keys -perhaps the most important- in the sensation that the space will transmit: you will not need the same type of light in a place for salads and healthy food -where we expect a fresh lighting, better if it is natural- than a place for bistro-type dinners, where the light will tend to be dim, stimulating the intimacy between diners.

However, you must respect a couple of rules if you want to ensure success:

• The first is uniformity, which will avoid having areas that are excessively bright and others that are very dark, distributing the light as evenly as possible. It is possible to have some areas a little brighter than others, but this difference should not be too great.
• The second rule you must take into account is the placement of the light with respect to the diners. They should be placed at a maximum of 75 centimeters from them, and never dazzle them. To do this, we will use indirect lighting or lamps with lampshades, sifting the light so that it brings even more warmth to the space.

And here’s a trick: if you equip your bulbs with a dimmer, you can choose how much light intensity you want to enjoy depending on the area of the restaurant and the time of day. This also has the added benefit of being able to achieve constant lighting in the establishment whatever time it is, and whatever the weather behind the window.

Ceiling lamps and sconces perfect for the restaurant dining room.

Having all the above in mind, it is time to choose the perfect ceiling lamps and wall lamps for our restaurant according to the style we want to print.

So, for example, if we want to give an Eco-Friendly and even tropical touch to the place, we should go for natural and ‘imperfect’ materials, such as the Abaca Big lamp, made of natural esparto grass.

If we like the exotic touch but prefer to make use of more ‘sophisticated‘ materials, it might be a good idea to get an Octane ceiling lamp, contemporary in style and made of metal with an aged gold finish. The leaves of its lampshade will filter the light in creative and subtle ways.

In minimalist or vintage spaces, Mirade Big can be a winning choice. This wall lamp made of steel rod with black finish and brass-finished cap cover is as simple as it is elegant.

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And for those looking to make a statement of intent with their restaurant lighting, there is nothing like the Devi Verde wall light. Vintage style made of metal, with brass-finished arm and lampshade and anchors in powder coated green paint the luminaire has, despite its apparent simplicity, a unique personality and charisma.

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Ceiling lamps and sconces to illuminate restaurants with style

From the light needed to draw attention to the hall or bar to the rules for properly illuminating a restaurant dining room, we’ve found that lighting is a key aspect of restaurant décor, as it directly affects the customer’s sensations. Likewise, we have seen which sconces and ceiling lights can work depending on the style of the space, hopefully giving you some ideas for your own place. Which one would you choose?

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