The ceiling light is the one you reach for first when you walk into a dark room. It needs to light the whole space evenly, suit the height of the ceiling and look right when it is switched off. Our first ceiling lights are arriving from European makers, delivered free across the UK.
Our first pieces are on their way. We are choosing them one by one from European workshops and makers. Tell me when they arrive.
Buying guide
Start with the height of the room, then think about how bright it needs to be and how the fitting will look when it is switched off, which is most of the day.
Many British homes have ceilings of about 2.4 metres. At that height or below, flush and semi-flush ceiling lights keep the room feeling open and nobody walks into them. Above 2.6 metres, pendants and chandeliers come into their own, as long as at least 2.1 metres is left clear underneath where people walk.
Check lumens rather than watts. A bedroom ceiling light of 1,000 to 2,000 lumens is usually enough, while a kitchen or a large living room may need 3,000 or more from all its fittings combined. Warm white, around 2,700 K, suits living rooms and bedrooms, and neutral white, around 4,000 K, suits kitchens and bathrooms. If you fit a dimmer switch, choose dimmable LEDs and a dimmer rated for them, usually a trailing-edge type, to avoid flicker.
Bathroom ceiling lights need an IP rating suited to their zone, often IP44 and IP65 directly above a shower. In a kitchen, a flush fitting or spotlights over the worktop give even, shadow-free light. Choose fittings with a closed diffuser near the hob, as open shades collect grease and dust.
In a living room, the ceiling light is a background layer, so it can be gentle and dimmable, with lamps doing the rest. In a bedroom, avoid a bare bulb you will see from the bed. Hallways often look better with two smaller flush fittings than with one central light.
These fittings connect to the mains, so use a registered electrician. In England and Wales, bathroom work falls under Part P of the Building Regulations. Heavier fittings may need fixing to a joist.
A flush or semi-flush fitting. They sit close to the ceiling, so the room feels taller and there is no risk of walking into the light.
Around 1,000 to 2,000 lumens for a bedroom, and 3,000 or more in total for a kitchen or large living room, ideally shared between several fittings.
Ceiling lights connect to the mains, so a registered electrician is the safe choice. In England and Wales, work in bathrooms and new circuits fall under Part P of the Building Regulations.
Flush, semi-flush, pendant, chandelier and spotlight fittings. Flush and semi-flush suit low ceilings, pendants and chandeliers need more height.