I’m a big fan of mid century dining rooms. I love the way vintage décor brings a bit of life to rooms that are dated or just plain boring. I love how vintage décor brings out the charm of those decorators who worked on the homes they lived in, how their family photos are displayed over the mantel, how their favorite colors are used in the room, and how their personal details blend in seamlessly with the surroundings.
However, the issue here isn’t the décor, but the placement of the lighting. That’s where the vintage furniture, the chandeliers, the dark drapes, and the mid-century kitchen lighting come in. It’s not the lighting that makes mid century dining rooms shine, it’s the way that it is used and how it is placed. I am a fan of mid-century kitchen lighting but not mid-century dining rooms.
The kitchen is a huge room. Often its the only room in the house that’s not decorated in the mid-century theme. The room is usually left lighted so that you can cook, and often has the mid-century kitchen cabinet lighting that adds to the overall ambiance. But for me it is not the lighting that makes mid century dining rooms shine. Its the placement of the lighting.
Its a lot easier to get the mid century look right if you start with the right lighting. A light that is placed in a place you will see it often will make things look better. So, if you are trying to recreate the mid century look in a kitchen, try putting all your kitchen lights in the same spot. A bright white cabinet light can give your kitchen a dark mid century feel. The lighting is also important for the lighting in the dining room.
This is another great reason to have more than one light in a room. Most mid century diners will have a small table in the middle of the room. It is easy to place a table light and a ceiling fixture in the top of the frame. It is a little trickier to get them in the middle of the room. But if you do, you can accentuate light and space in the room with just a single fixture.
There is a rule of thumb that I’ve used many times while designing kitchens for clients, and that is to aim for no more than 70% of the ceiling to be covered with light. You can get there in a number of ways. It doesn’t have to be fluorescent (although that’s a big help), but it’s a good idea to try the same idea in a kitchen with a lot of white flooring.
That’s the rule of thumb I’ve used to help create mid century dining rooms. Try to use a few different fixtures and fixtures in each room. Not too many, not too few. And no, you cant do the light up or down.
A lot of designers try to do too much, and that is one of the things that makes most people nervous. They do too little, too often, and then they get scared and move on to the next project. Ive never seen anyone make a mistake, and Ive tried to do the same with this blog. If I do something bad, I know I have to fix it.
The mid century dining room light fixture is the perfect example of a design that should never be done. It is so cheap, and so common, that it simply can’t be used. It’s a bit of a turn-off, because it doesn’t fit with the look of the mid century house.
The thing I love about this is that, for the first time, I can see our house as a piece of art. No matter what style or décor we do, it is what we are. We are one.