Listener Q&A: All Things Lighting

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dear Alice | Interior Design

Episode: Listener Q&A: All Things Lighting
Date: December 11, 2025
Hosts: Jessica Bennett ("Jess"), Suzanne Hall ("Suze"), Alice Lane, Corey

Overview

In this lively and information-packed episode, the Dear Alice team tackles an entire episode of listener questions about lighting. From choosing the right size chandelier, solving tricky kitchen lighting conundrums, to nailing flattering vanity lights and picking light bulbs that give your space a designer glow—they cover it all with their signature mix of high-end expertise, wit, and practical equations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lighting Over a Kitchen Island with Low Ceilings

(03:03 - 07:01)

• Can you have pendants over an island with 8ft ceilings?

  • Alice: "Yes, we have done lighting over an island with eight foot ceilings...we would always find a way, regardless of how tall your ceilings are to get that look." (03:03)
  • Recommends layering decorative pendant lighting with practical can lights for task lighting.
  • Use of monopoint fixtures as a minimal contemporary solution, but soft shapes like globes are preferred for a welcoming vibe.

• Sconces by the stove/range:

  • Suze: "Having that there to just kind of like, glow around your stone by your range, by your hood and highlighting all those things. I think it's such a beautiful trick." (05:13)
  • Suggests sconce choices that are easy to clean (e.g., brass or alabaster) and don't look like traditional entryway sconces.
  • Sconces provide an ambient, restaurant-like mood—especially at night, with main lights off.

2. Combining & Mixing Lighting Styles in a Room/Home

(07:35 - 12:19)

• Alice: "No, we do not go to one brand and buy the whole suite...It's really about creating fashion and creating a vibro look." (08:05)
• Avoid matching everything (e.g., all Ralph Lauren) as you would avoid over-matched furniture.
• When choosing adjacent lighting (such as in a kitchen that opens to a dining room), contrast shapes and styles so fixtures complement but don't compete—e.g., if you have an arm-heavy chandelier over the dining table, choose more solid pendants over the island.
• Lighting selection happens after furniture is chosen—it’s "the jewelry" added last for cohesion.

3. Can a Chandelier Be Too Big? How to Size Fixtures

(12:19 - 14:56)

• Alice: "I don't believe a chandelier can be too big. One instance might be if you have an eight foot ceiling...but even then put a cocktail table under it and let's make this a vibe." (12:25)
• Equation:
  • For chandelier diameter: Room width (ft) + room depth (ft) = chandelier diameter (inches). Ex: 10x10ft room → 20" diameter.
  • For chandelier height: Room height (ft) x 2.5 = min chandelier ht (inches); x3 = max.
• Alice: “But I would challenge you—if you can go a little bigger, the more generous, the more designer it will feel.” (14:10)

4. Proper Scaling & Height for Island Pendant Lighting

(15:37 - 21:04)

• Bottom of pendants should hang 34-42” above island countertop.
• Prefer a minimum of two pendants, never less than 16” diameter (ideally 18–30” for larger islands).
• If the island or ceiling is huge, may need to source large-scale fixtures from the chandelier category—can get expensive with soaring ceiling heights.
• Alice: “Your kitchen is your most expensive room...don’t want to cheap out on lighting or go too small because that is going to make everything look...budget.” (17:39)

5. Vanity Lighting: Placement for Flattery & Function

(22:47 - 24:54)

• Never put a light above the mirror alone—it casts harsh shadows (aka “Halloween face”).
• Suze: “You want that lighting to be on either side of your face when you’re doing your makeup. You do not want it above your head.” (23:14)
• Use sconces on either side of the mirror for the most beautiful, flattering solution—even if they’re dim.

6. Do Bulb Types and Temperature Matter? (Kelvin & Lumens)

(25:04 - 29:51)

• Alice: “Yes, the bulb type really matters.” (25:04)
• Suze: “We like 2700 kelvin. In general we want warm light, we don’t want cold light, we don’t want alien LED lighting.” (25:07)
• Inconsistent color temperatures from room to room feel “roofied” or disorienting (25:28).
• Recommended Standard: 2700K everywhere (except perhaps garage at 3000K); for lamps/sconces: 400–450 lumens.
• Dimmer switches are a must for mood control.
• Uniform lighting temperature dramatically upgrades your home’s vibe.

7. Lighting Mistakes to Avoid

(30:11 - 35:16)

• Most common: Fixtures are too small; builder uses same cheap fixture everywhere.
• Too many can lights spaced too closely (“ceiling acne”).
  Suze: “There’s just so many [cans]… they were suggesting every four feet and I’m like, good gravy, that’s so close together.” (33:44)
• Ensure cans (when necessary) are laid out in a logical grid, not scattershot.
• Decorative lighting and scale are what separate “builder grade” from designer homes.
• Alice: “If you get in there and use real brass finishes...the right temperature bulb...boom. You hired a designer.” (33:26)
• “Buy once, cry once”: Invest in appropriate scale and quality upfront.

8. Layering Lighting in Entryways

(36:01 - 39:10)

• No cans needed; use a main fixture, sconces, and a lamp on the entry console for layers and glow.
• Matching lots of lampshades can be redundant—mix materials and types for balance.
• Alice: "The entry is a vibe. Like you’re opening the door and you just want the most beautiful scene that you can walk into." (36:48)
• Entry is for filtered, flattering “mood” lighting—not for tasks!
• Even in small entries, use an art lamp over artwork if sconces won’t fit.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On vanity lighting:
  Suze: "You want that lighting to be on either side of your face...you look like I was on the cast of Halloween...Don't be that person, guys. Flatter them. Make everybody look beautiful." (23:14–24:19)

• On scaling up fixtures:
  Alice: "If you can go a little bigger, the more generous, the more designer it will feel." (14:10)

• On color temperature:
  Suze: “We like 2700 kelvin in general. We want warm light, we don't want cold light, we don't want alien LED lighting.” (25:07)

• On builder mistakes:
  Alice: “The biggest problem was that it was way underscaled lighting. And also…the builder just bought the exact same light and hung it everywhere.” (30:20)

• On layering and not over-matching:
  Alice: "No, we do not go to one brand and buy the whole suite...It's really about creating fashion and creating a vibro look." (08:05)

• On lighting as investment:
  Alice: "Upgrade the lighting—will definitely pay off in spades." (33:26)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:47: Introduction, premise, and plans for the episode
• 03:02–07:01: Kitchen island lighting w/8 ft ceilings & range sconces
• 07:35–12:19: Mixing/matching lighting styles and different rooms
• 12:19–14:56: Chandelier sizing formulas and philosophies
• 15:37–21:04: Island pendant height, diameter, and scale guidelines
• 22:47–24:54: Flattering and functional vanity lighting—do’s and don'ts
• 25:04–29:51: Bulb selection and standardizing color temperature
• 30:11–35:16: Biggest lighting mistakes and how to avoid them
• 36:01–39:10: Layering and finessing entryway lighting

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Host Tone & Takeaways

Dear Alice’s hosts blend industry expertise with playful, witty banter and relatable analogies (“the earrings of the outfit,” “no one wants spaceship glow”). Their advice is clear, direct, and backed by real-world experience—balancing practicality with high-end design.

In summary:

• Go bigger and bolder with fixtures than you think.
• Prioritize warmth and consistency in bulb choice (2700K!).
• Layer lighting for mood and flattery—never rely just on cans or overheads.
• Choose statement lighting as the “jewelry” of a room after the main design is in place.
• Well-planned lighting is a secret weapon for instantly elevating any space.

Transcript

[Suze]

Hello, everyone.

[Alice]

Welcome to Dear Alice. Today we are doing a lighting episode. You guys had so many questions, we compiled them all into one, and we're making it all about lighting. We've got great visuals, so if you want to tune in and see those on Spotify or YouTube, I would recommend it. If not, if we're, like, going on a walk or a drive with you, we'll try to do our best to describe what we're talking about, but lots of really intelligent questions out there, and it's nice to be able to focus on just this one topic and share what we know, because there's a lot to uncover.

[Corey]

Yep.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suze]

And they're expensive decisions. Anytime you start to get into, like, lighting and good lighting, like, how big should the chandelier be? How you know. So smart, smart questions. Yep.

[Alice]

We're going to give you some equations that will help you determine the right size of lighting. There's a lot of smarts and a lot of technical things in here, as well as what temperature should your light bulbs be? We'll be giving you those answers. Yes. Lots of good things to get into. But first, I wanted to say there's still time if you want to get a gift from Alice Lane. Today is Thursday, when this episode releases. By Next Tuesday on December 16th is when the postmaster cuts us off and can't guarantee shipping for sure. So you have till next Tuesday to get something great. I'm so excited for you. There's great gift guides live, so go shopping. And we had another fun idea for you.

[Suze]

So say. Say you haven't gotten a great gift for that really special someone in your life, your partner, whatever. And you're just like, I really gotta. Like, I gotta do something big. What you're gonna do, you're gonna get them an I'll say gift card. And then we have a free design service through a home furnishings design. You're gonna say, honey, we're gonna do the living room just like you always wanted. January 1st, we got a consultation scheduled with.

Alice Lane. Oh, my gosh. You win. Kisses all over the place. Merry Christmas.

[Alice]

Yep. And that gift card gets to go toward the purchase of furniture. You don't have to pay for the design service, but they think that you bought the design service and you're going to be doing the furniture. The whole gift card is going to go toward furnishings. So there's a solid.

[Suze]

Everyone wins.

[Alice]

And actually, with that one, you can. You can do that till later because this doesn't have to ship anywhere. You're gonna print that gift card off, don't procrastinate till December 24. It would be ideal if you did schedule the consultation so then they think you really thought about it. But anyway, love that idea.

[Suze]

Yes.

[Alice]

So good.

[Corey]

To book that consultation, you go to our website alisonhome.com go to the design services tab, go down to home Furnishing Design and then that will take you to a form you fill out.

[Suze]

Someone will go back to you subject Christmas sos.

[Corey]

Yes, there we go.

[Suze]

Like we didn't flag this.

[Corey]

Yeah, three exclamation points.

[Suze]

Welcome back to you.

[Corey]

Let's just jump into the questions. Those listener questions all on lighting today. So the fan asked, have you ever done lighting over an island? 8 foot ceilings, 10 foot island help sconces by stove question mark.

[Suze]

Okay.

[Alice]

Yes, we have done lighting over an island with eight foot ceilings.

[Suze]

And I think we always would, we would always find a way, regardless of how tall your ceilings are to get that look. Because I think that lighting like crowning this island in this kitchen, framing your range, all the things, that's everything like the lighting. And again, if you know the tricks to do the right kind of lighting, it's kind of like this Jedi mind trick. You're just like, gosh, this space grew. It's a very grand, gracious space when you do do this lighting trick.

[Alice]

So yeah, agreed we are. If you're tuning in and you can see the visuals we're showing you House of Kennedy. We just recently celebrated this project last month with you guys and took you through this whole remodel. But we actually did four pendants. Two, two pendants over the island and then two matching pendants over the dining table here. These are Kelly Werstler. Also feel like this is a very worstler trick we pulled. And yeah, we are coming down probably at least 24 inches on each of these, giving you plenty of space on the work island and then obviously plenty of space to get in and out of that banquette. The eye loves repetition and this feels really good in the space. Also felt really designer and like nothing was forgotten. Another cool trick that people are loving right now with the low ceilings is using a monopoint. And you could use a monopoint, a collection of two or three over an island if you wanted that very minimal kind of contemporary look. There's something about it. Still feels old school but modern, I think. Especially if you did like a bronze finish or a brass. But my eyeball is always going to want a soft shape. Yeah, I love a globe. I love this one that we used in House of Kennedy. With that. That bottom. That's just, like, really beautiful.

[Suze]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

So pretty. And I just love that it's getting the light pushed out at that lower surface. We did also use cans in this space, so it's pretty typical to have a layer of can lights as pendant lighting. You're going to mostly use those pendant lights other than when you're maybe cooking up a storm, like for the holidays or Thanksgiving or cleaning at night. Then you're going to put on that extra layer of lighting to really illuminate the space. But I like her second question here, which is sconces by stove, question mark. I love this.

[Suze]

I do, too. I'm like. And I think too, like, pulling, because that's just like, on your vertical wall, like your ceilings, like, that's doing its own dance, but, like, having that there to just kind of like, glow around your stone by your range, by your hood and highlighting all those things. I think it's such a beautiful trick. We try and employ this whenever we can in clients homes. I love the look, and especially if we don't have, like, uppers, like, if you kind of omit those or push those to different walls, perpendicular walls, and you have your range with your slab, two sconces, and you just have. Have that glowing at night. So dreamy. Yeah, so, so dreamy. So, yeah, definitely do that whenever you can get sconces. I think this is a real key takeaway in lighting in general. It's just like, I. I feel like it's. I don't know, the. It's a little, like, party trick. It's like the treat at the end, you know, that you don't always expect, but it always gives back.

[Alice]

I agree.

[Suze]

So, yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

I. I also want to say this. This is very specific, but I feel like this isn't true for everybody. But I feel like these sconces don't necessarily need to be the sconces with shades. When you're thinking of them, I almost think of them like our asanalis sconce. Like, the whole thing is like a bullnose of brass with the alabaster half dome. I think it should feel like if spaghetti sauce splattered on it, you could wipe it off.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

It would feel more culinary, if you will. And it shouldn't feel like an entry or even like a dining room or stairwell sconce.

[Suze]

I.

[Alice]

There's a lot to be said about the right use of a sconce in the right place, and I see the wrong ones used all the time in the wrong applications. And so I just wanted to say here, these kitchen sconces, I'm picturing them living underneath the range hood.

[Suze]

Right.

[Alice]

And so I think that they should be almost like wet rated, you know what I mean?

[Corey]

Glass or glass or stone.

[Alice]

Alabaster. Exactly. I think those kind of applications just look so chic. They're unexpected. You're going to get a billion points of credit for it. And it's just going to look very restaurant and moody. And even if all the lights are turned off and just those are a glow when you put that. The kitchen to bed at night, that's the vibe. Exactly.

[Suze]

It's ambient, so you don't even need to see the light source. It doesn't even.

[Alice]

Anybody could make out with you.

[Suze]

Oh, my gosh.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Suze]

Smoke and mirrors.

[Alice]

Yes, exactly. Yes. That's what we want. That's what we want for the. Yes, yes.

Cheers.

[Suze]

Chin chin. Okay.

[Corey]

Okay. Question number two. How do you combine lighting within one room and how to mix different styles and materials?

[Alice]

This question came in more than once. We had one listener write in and she said, I just was able to score this great Ralph Lauren chandelier for my dining table. Like, could not believe the difference it made in her house because everything else was builder grade. And she's like, I can't believe the difference one chandelier can make. So now I want to replace everything. And you're like, yes, Yep. You've caught the vision. This can make a difference. And because she got this one Ralph Lauren chandelier, she's like, do I just go and buy everything Ralph Lauren for the whole house? You're like, oh, I can see where this is going. How do you create the outfit of the lighting for the whole home? And this is something that we take a lot of time on alid creating these lighting schedules. And unfortunately, the answer is no, we do not go to one brand and buy the whole suite. Much like we don't go and buy the nights. The matching bed with the matching. Remember we used to get the whole wood set. You know, you'd get the matching bed with the nightstands, with the dresser with the. The trunk at the foot of the bed. Like, everything had the same profiles. It's really about creating fashion and creating a vibro look. And this is why people hire interior designers, so that they have not just one resource with one line called Ralph Lauren, they have multiple lines, multiple designers, multiple brands where they can go in and they can curate for the home what this looks like. So up on your screen right now, this is one example For a home that we're doing in the Pacific Northwest, for a couple that loves fashion. And this is the lighting that we are doing throughout the home. That sort of the lighting story. And sue, do you want to take them through how we choose lights, especially not just for the room you're in, but the adjacent lights, because there's a relationship happening there, too.

[Suze]

Yeah. So a lot of this. This is a, again, lighting for a whole home. And when you can see, when you're doing, like, one room, say we're doing your kitchen slash, like your family room, great room that kind of shares that space. We're looking at the island. Like, you'll usually find one that you fall in love with, be it, you know, like, say I find my island, you know, pendants. We'll have those. And then you're like, okay, I have a neighboring dining nook that I have to also find a light for. We're going to look at all those together, individually in each room to make sure that they're complimenting each other and not competing with each other. And. And so if one. If you're one over. Your dining room table has a lot of arms, and it's a. It has a big, broad diameter over your island. I'm going to always, like, go to something that feels more solid and it doesn't have a bunch of arms and doesn't feel like a globe or like a globe or a bowl or something. So it doesn't compete with that. So, like, I know that when I go through this room and I can see both of these lights in the same, you know, I vantage point, that they're just going to complement each other, not compete with each other now. So we get that. That all looks good. Client approves it. We get sconces by the. By the range. We get an art light over here on this wall. All those things are working with each other and complimenting and finished. Now you get to the next room, and as we design room by room, we add all these lights to this schedule to be like, okay, that's a lovely transition from this room to the next room. And there's so many ways we do it. You know, this is just like on indesign or there's so many cool tools now where you can do this. I use, like, that one little diptych, you know, collage thing that I'm always. When I'm working on a project for myself, I'm like, okay, I have this, I have this. I have this. Okay, okay, stamp of approval. It all looks good together. Okay. And then I have my blessing. I can purchase. Same thing goes with your overall house. Like as you're working on room, so you work on this one room. Now you're ready to work on the second room. Don't negate what's happening in the other room. You know, finish wise, shape wise. You want to note all those characters in the same story because they are. You're going to fill them all in the same space.

[Alice]

I also want to say this.

[Suze]

Yeah, we're choosing the lighting.

[Alice]

Once the room has been designed.

[Suze]

This is kind of with the furniture and with this is the jewelry.

[Alice]

You're not just going to put on your earrings and then walk into your closet and figure out what to wear. These are the earrings of the, of the outfit, if you will. So fashionably we're getting all of those ground layers and all the furnishings dialed in. And then we're choosing the lighting to go with it. Same thing with your primary suite. Right. The bathroom is completely designed. And then we choose sort of the crown jewels that will go in the bathroom. Even though there's not a ton of furnishings in there, you have to know what the vibe is in order to choose your lighting. So this can be particularly hard for folks that are building a brand new house which has never existed, and they don't know what the furnishings are. We don't touch the lighting until we get into the whole furnishings part of the package. And then we start to really understand the vibe of the house and then we can start to choose its jewels for the room.

[Corey]

Question number three is, can a chandelier be too big for a room?

[Suze]

Gosh, you're talking to designers.

[Alice]

I'm gonna say the biggest offender for me is that lighting is never big enough.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

And so I, I don't believe a chandelier can be too big. One instance might be if you have an eight foot ceiling. You inherited some great chandelier from grandma's French estate, and it's gonna be so big, it will be 4ft off the ground and you can't walk under it. But even then you're like, well, put a cocktail table under it and let's make this a vibe. Yeah, let's choke that thing right up against the ceiling. For the most part. We just, 99% of the time, we've never seen that a chandelier is too big for a room. Also note, chandeliers are usually over a table. They're usually over a cocktail to table dining table, a center hall table in an entry. I don't know. They're usually there's something there in an entry or it could be console next to the wall and you're walking under it. So I think as long as the chandelier is at least 7ft off the ground and anybody can clear that, you're pretty fair game.

[Corey]

Yeah, I agree. Do you want to give them the equation, Suze, of like to figure out how big?

[Suze]

Yeah, Oftentimes, like as designers, we're like, we look at it, we're like, okay. Like, we visualize a lot. We're like, okay, that'll actually feel good. Oh, it's going to be even a little bit bigger.

[Alice]

Fantastic.

[Suze]

There are rules, though, that we can, like give you right now, which I think is really helpful. So the rules that we found consistently on the Internet. So you're going to take your room width and feet by your room depth, you're going to add those and that's going to equal, equal your chandelier diameter in inches. So a 10 by 10 room, 10 plus 10 is 20. You're going to do a 20 inch chandelier in that space. So that's an easy rule for you.

[Alice]

That's your kind of go off of. Yeah. Your diameter of the light. Exactly.

[Corey]

And then as far as how far it's going to hang down. So the height of the chandelier, I.

[Alice]

Also wanted to say these are your averages. We would say, we would challenge. Jesus. Designers. And say if you can go a little bigger, the more generous, the more designer it will feel. This is like a real statement in the room. It's a vibe setter. It's gonna make you look super designer. So these are just like again, averages. So do this and then add a little extra to it.

[Corey]

Always go a little bit bigger for sure. So for the ceiling or for the chandelier height, you're going to do the room height in feet times 2.5. And then so if it's 8, that's going to be. If it's 8 foot ceiling, that's 20. Yeah. 2.5 times 2.5 is 20. And so that's going to be your minimum in inches. 20 inches. Minimum hang height.

[Suze]

Yes.

[Alice]

Yeah. For your chandelier height, the last one we gave you is for the diameter. So this is how tall should your chandelier be? So that's your minimum. Your maximum is your room height times three. Right. And then that's going to be give you like a 24 inch chandelier. So if you have an 8, this is again on an 8 foot ceiling, 24 inches. So that's coming down to about 6ft. Again though, you're probably putting the chandelier above a table or above a cocktail centered on a cocktail table in the middle of the room. And so we're not worried about your 6 foot 2 nephew walking underneath this because everybody's kind of gathering around this table and, and it just, it really fills up the room and makes it look super intentional.

[Corey]

Question number four. What's an appropriate scale and height of island pendant lighting?

[Suze]

Okay, so for the height of your island pendants, we always go about anywhere from like 34 to 42 to the bottom of your pendant. So that's from the top of your countertop to the bottom of your. Of your pendants. Right. And so again, like if you're 8ft, you know, and you have a 36 inch countertop, that gives you 5ft. So if I'm going up another like say another three feet, then you, you know, three feet. Three feet, you have two feet of hanging distance. So that's your height. Okay. For diameter. That's just going to depend on how long your island is. So we don't usually go. I, I think we'll always go. We prefer two. So even on a small island, we.

[Alice]

Prefer the quantity of two pendants.

[Suze]

Thank you.

[Alice]

Over an island. Yeah.

[Suze]

Yes. And so I would always, I don't think I would go any smaller than like 16 inches in majority of pendants that we're choosing for our clients and for the islands.

[Corey]

And so I mean, even in my home, my kitchen island I think is it's like five by seven. I want to say. Yeah, if I'm doing anything smaller than 18, like it's going to, it's going to be too small for that size. And mine's a pretty average island.

[Alice]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, the rule is 14 to 20 inches. But like, we would break that rule and say 24 would feel really great. 20 on the small end. You could even, you know, do 30 if you wanted to do two 30s. So I guess when we get down to the larger. Yeah. And then the larger islands are like 8 to 10ft. And then we would do two large pendants, which again are that 18 to 30 inch diameter. It just feels really good. It's really grounding to a space to be able to have these large pendants. And it's the thing that's at eye level and it frames that range hood.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

You know, and so if you don't go for it, the space just feels.

[Suze]

Like it's, it's empty.

[Alice]

It does, yeah.

[Corey]

You can look past. If they're like little 12 inch globes over cute big island, you can just look past them too much. It doesn't give you a good frame of reference.

[Alice]

What you're looking at something with generosity and scale that feels more luxurious. And so I would just say like, yeah, you've got to go big on these. You can start looking at even things outside of the category if you need to do just two of something larger, like pendants for, I don't know, over a dining table. Do two of those over an island, just depending on what your price point is. But this is something that you really want to get right. Your kitchen is your most expensive room in the house, most likely. And you don't want to cheap out on lighting or go too small because that is going to make everything look like, like it's very, very budget.

[Corey]

Yep.

[Suze]

We have run into this too and we've been looking for homes that we're working on where we're like looking at pendants and all of them are coming in too small. So I like that you mentioned the category thing because we've had to hop up to the chandelier category when you are looking at these different vendors because that's when you're going to get into the 20 to 30 inches diameter. Less than that is usually the pending category.

[Alice]

So can you give them an example of that?

[Suze]

Like on a project?

[Alice]

Yeah, currently on a project, I think we're working on one island that's like 20ft long.

[Suze]

Yeah.

[Alice]

How did we solve for that? Two chandeliers we had to do.

[Suze]

Okay, so let's look at Manchester. Okay. That was a massive island. I want to say it was like almost 12ft long.

[Alice]

It was.

[Suze]

And so we had to go to something we want to frame out the hood just like we were talking about. And so we were like over 30. I wanna say we were like 34 to 36 in diameter for these two island chandeliers. They're not pendants anymore. But when you look at it, it doesn't feel out of scale. You're just like, oh, that feels like totally normal. Because it's to scale. You know, if we went any smaller than that in that large volume of a space with that big of an island, you'd been like, something's wrong. Like they did this on the cheap or you know. But nobody would like go in and be like, that would be a fun guessing game actually at the Thanksgiving table to be like guess the diameter of my island pendants. No one would say 36 inches diameter. Because it just looks so right. And so to scale with everything proportionately around it. Yeah. So anyway, so you're going to be looking at pendant for smaller islands and that's going to be anywhere from again that 16 to 18 to 20 inches. Anything above that, you're in the chandelier category.

[Alice]

Also, quick note, I know we kind of popped up, popped off on this last time, but if you have an architect that's drawing a new set of plants today and they're putting those ceilings up at 14 inches or 16 inches, you're not 14.

[Corey]

Give me feet.

[Alice]

I'm, I'm so sorry. Yes. If you have an architect that is drawing up your home and they're doing these great ceiling heights of over 10ft, let's say you go to 12ft or even 14ft, you're not able to use lighting fixtures in your category anymore. You have to solve your problems in a whole new sphere. And that sphere costs a lot of money. And so all of a sudden you're working with the 12 foot kitchen island and you're working with the 12 foot ceiling. 14 foot ceiling. And now you're using two chandeliers to solve your pendant problems. And it gets expensive pretty fast. So when you get into those ceiling height games, you're, you're in a whole new realm. And we can play that game, we can play that scale game, but I don't know how your budget is going to like it after doing that for a whole home.

[Suze]

And your builder allowance of what he's budgeted for lighting is not matching what the architect drew exactly.

[Alice]

He's, he's solving for that problem with a 10 foot or under ceiling. And you're now in a 12 foot, 14 foot ceiling category, which is a lot of cubic feet to try and solve for lighting.

[Suze]

And now you're going to have to make sure you rent. Really remember that height from the countertop. You're, you know, it's 36 to the bottom of that shoulder because you're going to need a lot of drop. You're going to have to get custom rods for that or additional chain. So do not forget that because we've seen that mistake happen over and over again where they're just like, well, we bought them, they were on a great deal, but they're like choked up against the ceiling. And it like, it's just, it's a glory for no one.

[Alice]

They're hanging out in a different atmosphere.

[Suze]

It's a bummer.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suze]

So make sure you remember that. I think that rule of the 30 the 34 to 42 above your countertop is awesome. I think that will save you.

[Alice]

Agreed.

[Corey]

Suze, have you ever given a gift that felt more like an experience rather than a product?

[Suze]

At the end of the day, all I want if showered, the kids are like in bed. I'm gonna go to my sofa and I'm gonna grab my bubble cuddle blanket because that's all I want. At the end of a good or a bad day, you just want to wrap yourself up in a blanket and no one does it better than Cozy Earth. The bubble cuddle is my absolute favorite.

[Corey]

You can get that bubble cuddle blanket risk free because it comes with a hundred night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. Give the gift of everyday luxury. This holiday season head to cozyearth.com and use our code Dear Alice for up to 40% off. Just be sure to place your order by December 12th for the guaranteed Christmas delivery. Listening after the 12th. Don't worry, our Code Dear Alice still works year round for 20% off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Give the gift of comfort that lasts beyond the holidays and carries you into a cozy new year. Question 5 they ask how do I choose the right size and placement for vanity lighting so it feels high end and flattering? Should they go beside the mirror above it or both?

[Alice]

Yes. Snap. Yes.

[Suze]

Yes.

[Alice]

Good question. Here. Okay. We see this all the time and I'm so glad we have a platform to say this from. You should never ever, ever hang a light fixture above the mirror right here. Never do it. There's no need to do it today.

[Suze]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Yep. It's not flattering what's going to happen. No.

[Suze]

I will tell you this. I actually just stayed at a hotel in Boston for a client job.

[Alice]

How did you look?

[Suze]

I look terrible. And I do my makeup pretty quickly. I'm on a schedule, y'. All. But yeah, because like that light is just shining down on you and so you just get all the ugliest shadows and like you're your lines. Ladies underneath your eyes in the morning have never looked deeper. I will tell you that much. You want that lighting to be on either side of your face when you're doing your makeup. You do not want it above your head.

[Alice]

You don't.

[Suze]

You look like I. I felt like I was on the cast of Halloween. Like it was the worst. I was Jason.

[Alice]

We call it Halloween face. Your brow bones put shadows on your eyes and your eye and you just.

[Suze]

You've never looked uglier, like 100%.

[Alice]

There's no reason. And even if this is a powder bath, there's, there's no reason why you shouldn't be putting sconces on both sides of the mirror even if they're dimly lit. It's just a more beautiful solution. The day when we put a one bar of light above, above, it's just, it's like a cost savings trip in, in a starter home. And I know all of you guys are working on up leveling your homes. You're building homes for other people. It's not an answer. We're not doing it anymore. This is an antiquated idea to save money on lighting.

[Suze]

Do you have any fitting rooms that you're just like, I'm definitely not going to that fitting room. I look terrible. People are going to feel like that about your house. Or like I'm not going to go check my teeth or go use that bathroom because I look terrible every time I go to so and so's house. Don't be that person, guys. Flatter them. Make everybody look beautiful. This is, put them on the side of your mirrors, please.

[Alice]

Such a beautiful solution. And I, I just think it's, I don't know. This is like real design. Yeah, yeah, it looks really good. It feels like if the builder is building a builder grade home, you know, because he's going to buy one sconce to put above each mirror instead of buying two sconces to go next to each mirror. Right.

[Corey]

100%. Question number six. Does the bulb type really matter? Should we be choosing a specific temperature for certain rooms?

[Alice]

Yes, the bulb type really matters.

[Suze]

I dare say for all rooms.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Yes.

[Suze]

We like 2700 kelvin. Like in general we want warm light, we don't want cold light, we don't want alien LED lighting.

[Corey]

Nothing's the worst. Nothing is the worst. Especially in the winter.

[Suze]

And when you get like, if you have dual temperatures happening from like one room to the next, you'll like. I've never felt more roofied in my whole life. More roofy, folks.

[Alice]

You heard it here first. I agree. And you know what? Also if you're driving by, we like to go on walks in the evening and now that it's like pitch black at 4:30, it's like 37 o'.

[Suze]

Clock.

[Alice]

At 4:30 at night it's so black outside it's kind of scary. But you can see all of the lights on in people's homes and when you're walking by and there's different color temperatures happening, let's just say that somebody left the garage lights on. What are those? Those are like fluorescent troffers in a lot of home, right?

[Corey]

I have 3,000 in my garage.

[Alice]

Well aren't you sexy. Well let me tell you, there's nobody else that's sexy like that out there. They are going with the brightest, brightest light possible and it hurts your eyeballs. It is. Yeah. It's a real shot to the retina to see those garage lights turned on. And then you move to the front of the house and there's like a different color temperature underneath the the soffits. Right. Y and I dare say if the ola husband of the house was choosing the light bulbs, he's like well I'm going to get the most bang for my buck.

[Corey]

I'm going to. I'm going to brighten this thing up.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Corey]

So what Kelvin, is he buying 4,000 plus?

[Alice]

Yeah, he is. Yep, he is.

[Suze]

So better than three.

[Alice]

Lights fluorescent. So we've got the porch light. The porch lights that are just like absolutely the brightest under the that's even available inside the house if the husband's choosing the light bulbs. I don't know why but it's also just too bright. White and blue. Maybe there's a lamp up in the other room that's a warm yellow cast. We love that. That feels charming and glowy. It's crazy. Guys, I'm just saying I'm so glad that we get to answer this question because nobody's got it together here. So we're going to give you guys one answer. We're not even going to give you a range. We used to give people a range. We're just going to give you our free limit.

[Corey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

So sorry. Corey, repeat again. What is the one Kelvin they're going to buy for everything?

[Corey]

2,000.

[Alice]

Attaboy. That's it.

[Suze]

I was thinking about it. If you go go watch a Nancy Myers film right there. I guarantee you homegirl's not using more than 2700.

[Alice]

She's not using LG and she's dimming.

[Suze]

That down for a mood. So throw a dimmer on it.

[Alice]

No, let's do talk about dimming it down because you can buy light bulbs with different lumens.

[Corey]

Yes.

[Alice]

Tell them why lumens matter.

[Corey]

Because that's like kind of the amount of like glow it's. It's giving off. So if you get an LED bulb that is 450 lumens it's like in for my opinion and like a powder bath that's maybe a Little bit too much. I'd go to like 400 lumens. That's going to just give like a nice, like warm glow. That's what you want in there, you know, especially if it's a, A vibey room anyway. 2700 kelvin, 400 lumen LED bulb. It's going to be great.

[Suze]

Boom.

[Corey]

Yep.

[Alice]

So that would probably be on all your sconces and all your lamps.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

What would you do for your kitchen pendants? How many lumens would you do?

[Corey]

I do 450 there probably. Yeah. But still, I think 2700 is. Is right.

[Suze]

The right Kelvin on a dimmer too, so that you can like. Yeah, pop that up, pop that down.

[Corey]

Yeah, yeah. So, Yeah, I think 2700.

[Alice]

The only time that you would break the rule. I told them we would only give them one number is in your garage lights. You would go to 3,000 Kelvin.

[Corey]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's a little brighter.

[Alice]

But also you have a workshop in your garage and you, you'll work and build things.

[Suze]

Changing the oil.

[Corey]

Definitely.

[Alice]

If the rest of us are just pulling our cars in at night and maybe taking the garbage out.

[Corey]

I mean, I, I just like a.

[Alice]

Warm glow color matching 2700 kelvin throughout the whole home.

[Corey]

Yeah, yeah. I, I just like, I don't, especially in the winter months. I don't like turning the big lights on and all the cans on. My kids love it. Mari loves it. Yep. I'm just like a more chill, you know, relax the mind, warm glow type of person. So, Yeah, I have 3,000 in my garage, but even then I probably could do 2700 and just be fine.

[Suze]

So. Okay, great.

[Alice]

And then tell them the lumens again. 400.

[Corey]

400, yep. If you have to go up to 450, like, you know, pendants or chandelier in a dining room, maybe you could do that as well.

[Alice]

But maybe take a look around your house and maybe your New Year's resolution can be just to standardize the Kelvin across your whole home. That will give you an instant mood upgrade and it will look great when you're pulling into your black house at night after working a long day and it's just a warm Nancy Meyers glow instead of that alien.

[Corey]

No one wants a spaceship glow in there. Yeah, yeah. I. You know what? If you don't believe us. Yeah. Go to Amazon and buy one of each. Buy a 4000, buy a 2700, put them both in the same fixture and see which one you like better. Guarantee it's going to be the 2700.

[Suze]

Yeah.

[Corey]

So.

[Suze]

And you're right. The other person that lives with you is wrong. Yes, exactly right.

[Corey]

Okay, next question. Are there lighting mistakes you absolutely, absolutely should avoid, or which mistakes do you see most often?

[Suze]

Okay, Jess, you touched on this.

[Alice]

Too small of a fixture, too small of a picture. We see it all the time. The people that wrote in every time. The biggest problem was that it was way underscaled lighting. And also, I would say the builder just bought the exact same light and hung it everywhere.

[Corey]

Oh, that's a great one.

[Alice]

He hung it in the stairwell. He hung it in the middle of bedrooms. He hung it over the dining table. He put two over the island.

[Suze]

He got a deal.

[Alice]

He bought these on closeout and he put them everywhere. And they were usually in brushed nickel and, you know, they contain two candelabra bulbs or three. And it was just like, they're so tiny, these things. And it just doesn't do any good for the house. It's a not personal or interesting or fashionable, but the underscaled light just makes the room feel smaller. Yeah. It doesn't really fill up the space and it doesn't kick off a lot of light either.

[Corey]

Agree.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suze]

And I'm like, even, Even in homes where designers have been there, not all designers are created equal. I feel like the scale of the lighting is a big indicator of some of the good at their job.

[Alice]

Yes.

[Suze]

I just went into a home that like, lovely home, dream home. Like most like 10, 10 million dollar home. Right. Beautiful. The lighting. The lighting was off. It was hung too high. They didn't order enough down router or chain. And it was just the wrong diameter for that space. It was such a big house. Again, to the point that the architect probably bloated it, drew it up too large, and they weren't on. Like, nobody was, like, paying attention to the other person as far as the scale of this home, because all of her lighting should be replaced. And it's nice lighting. It's not like she did Amazon specials or anything like that. It's nice lighting. It was just all too small, hung way too high, which is such a bummer that we're coming back so quickly after the house has been built to help her replace these things because, like, she's like, it just doesn't feel right. And I'm like, well, your lighting's too small. You know, so that again, like, on, like the lower, like, spec home, you know, that is too small. But also, if you're living in a gorgeous home, like, just take a look and make like see if it's the right scale for the room that it's in because it will make a huge difference. Just like your house. Yeah, it's everything.

[Corey]

What do you see? You say like, cry once. What's the.

[Suze]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Corey]

So that might be a situation if you're building home. Just buy once, cry once, you know.

[Alice]

Yeah, that's.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

There's a lot of sins that can be made in the name of lighting. The boob light, you know, it's like they put one in every bedroom kind of thing. It's a real way to just save cost, you know, especially if you're building or you're buying an inherited home or a builder grade home, there's not usually much of an allowance in there for decorative lighting. But it's also the one category that if you do put time and attention into, instantly skyrocket the vibe, the feel. I guarantee the resell of the home. This all of a sudden feels like a custom home because that's one of the, the line items that separate the good from the great. It's that they just don't get into the lighting, they don't spend the time on it, they don't use real finishes. So if you get in there and use real brass finishes, if you use beautiful polished nickels, if you using the right temperature bulb, if you're getting it at the right scale, boom. You hired a designer.

[Suze]

Yeah.

[Alice]

You have a very discerning mind. And they start believing that that is true for the rest of the home. So upgrading the lighting will definitely pay off in spades.

[Suze]

Yeah, I have another one.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suze]

Too many cans.

[Alice]

Yes.

[Suze]

As far as just like, things that, like the mistakes that we often see, there's just so many of them.

[Corey]

Electricians love them.

[Suze]

Electricians love them. And there's just, there's so many. And like I, I read some somewhere the other day that they were suggesting every four feet and I'm like, good gravy. That's so close together. Like when we do a RCP or reflected ceiling plan for a client, we do them every like six to eight feet in spaces that have to have them. Kitchens, pantries, prep spaces, bathrooms, things like that, where you need to get in and clean the corners. Other than that, I remember you said for your entry, you're like, I don't even know why I did cans in there. You don't need cans.

[Alice]

You don't need.

[Suze]

In a small space. Yeah. You have a decorative fixture hanging and that's all you need.

[Alice]

Exactly. Yeah, I know. I think I Think that the electrician, they make their money on the cans, right?

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

The designer can make the money on decorative fixtures.

[Suze]

Right.

[Alice]

So the electrician is going to really. He's going to really go for it on the cans and he's going to make sure that there's beam spread that's overlapping and that he can illuminate it as if there were no decorative fixture. That's what he's solving for.

[Corey]

Totally. So it's definitely looking at it from a different thing. Like, I'm a bass player in the band, so whenever I like, you know, we're doing like mixes and stuff. I was like, I'm always like, I want the bass ladder. It's like, of course. Because that's what I'm doing. You know what I mean? The same thing with the electrician. There's like, hey, I want this to be lit up for you guys, you know?

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Corey]

And it doesn't have to be.

[Suze]

So if you love the look of a can, light just like just beaming down on your face, like, go for it. But other than that, if you. Again, if you want that Nancy Myers film, she's photoshopping all those cans out. They're. Yeah, they're not cute.

[Alice]

And so are we. In all of our projects, we get rid of all the ceiling acne. There's no need for it.

[Corey]

Any other mistakes that we, like, see often?

[Suze]

Okay. When you have your cans, when you do have your cans, make sure that they're lined up in a grid. That is my biggest. When I'm like seeing a constellation of this acne on the ceiling. Like, I can't. Guys just put it in a row.

[Corey]

Even room to room or like hallway to room. Plus, it needs to be for me. That's just like my OCD mine. I like, look at it. And if they're like off centered from the ones coming down the hallway, it drives me.

[Suze]

You're in a new build. Just like make sure and say you're. You're not drawing up those plans, but you're working with your electrician. Electrician. To say, I just want to be in a really organized grid and I want them as far apart as, like, we can get them. So.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Yeah. Agreed.

[Suze]

Yeah.

[Corey]

Last question. Do you guys have rules of thumb for layering light in an entryway? Like when to use sconces, lamps, or just a single overhead fixture?

[Alice]

Yes, Yes. I think we're going to do all of that, actually. We're going to use sconces, we're going to use a lamp, and we're Going to use the single overhead fixture and we're not going to use cans. If you're doing a new build or remodeling, you don't need it in the entry. The entry is a vibe. Like you're opening the door and you just want the most beautiful scene that you can walk into. Don't need can lights for that can. Lights are for rooms where you want to do surgery and like makeup and cutting onions and you know what I mean? Like, these are this, these are the really hard working spaces of the home. So the entry is just really to. I don't know, like, it's a vibe.

[Corey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

Well, I mean, picture your first date, right? Like, you want to have your very best, most beautiful first impression and that does not include.

[Corey]

You don't want to open the door and be burning people's retinas. You know what I mean?

[Alice]

Yeah, they don't need. They don't want to see this lit with a can.

[Suze]

We're not exfoliating each other's faces. Yeah. Like, that's not necessary.

[Alice]

We want to look our very best when we open our own door.

[Suze]

We're diffused. Yeah, it's sexy, y'. All.

[Alice]

This is filtered lighting. Yeah.

[Suze]

I.

[Alice]

You know what? I actually just love the lamp. I know there's. I know it's controversial because you've got sconces and then you probably have a console under it. Right. I still want a lamp on that console. I want the height and I want that extra glow. It seems so redundant, but that is the setting in my house. And you take away the lamp and something's missing. I just, I need that light really spilling onto that surface and I. It's like there's usually a mirror involved and it's like bouncing back and the sconces are lower lit. It's the layered light that is so foxy. So it's a hard thing to explain to somebody who doesn't care about aesthetics because they're like, well, we already bought the sconces. They have the tiny shades on them. Why do we need another.

[Suze]

I just bought four lamps for the wall. Why do we need another lamp for the. The table?

[Alice]

Totally. And to that, I mean, because I know this about myself, I didn't do lamp sconces with shades on it because I knew I was going to have a tabletop fixture with a shade. I did alabaster shades so that it was a different glowing thing. It didn't look like three lamps hanging out at different scales.

[Suze]

That's important. Again, back to that Question of just like, how do I combine all these lights in one room? You have to look at that. Like, if you get too many shades, it's. It's redundant. It's not compliment.

[Alice]

It's crazy in there.

[Suze]

It is crazy in there and stuff. But for the layer, you don't want that projecting within your cant of this. And then they're locking horns again. Like, it's a mess. It is a mess, you know, so.

[Alice]

Yep. So get that backlit alabaster doing its thing next to those mirrors for sconces instead.

[Suze]

Yeah. And depending on the. Your entry in the scale of that entry, I have a very small entry. And so I'm like, what would I do? I'm just like. I'd put an art instead of like actual two sconces on the side of my mirrors. I'd probably do an art lamp over Frida. But still you get that glow with the chandelier with lamps and then I get all three. So whether you're small, whether you're big, you can have it all. That's awesome.

[Alice]

Yeah. And do it all and make it interesting and consider that whole outfit at once and then buy the lights like because they each are doing something different that make this beautiful scene.

[Corey]

Amen.

[Suze]

No, can't, guys.

[Alice]

That concludes our questions on lighting. Thank you so much for writing in. If you guys have questions for us, send those to Dear [e-mail] that's again, dear Alice. Alicelanehome.com we love to hear your questions. Also, leave us comments. We love reading those too. About. Leave us any comments about lighting that you might have. I'm sure this should be a continued conversation. We'd love to see those. And quick reminder, you have until Tuesday, December 16th to be able to get your gifts from alicelanehome.com delivered to your front porch in time for holiday. So make sure and shop that for Christmas. Thanks so much for listening, you guys. We're so grateful for all of you and happy holidays.

Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.

[Corey]

Foreign.

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