Ceramic Pendant Lights

Choosing a glaze for a ceramic pendant light

The glaze is what catches the eye on a ceramic pendant, so choose it as you would a paint colour, with the whole room in mind. We stock shades glazed in white, brown, blue and black. Some of ours have a marbled glaze, with colours swirled together. White keeps a room light and calm, brown warms plain walls and pale wood, blue adds colour without overpowering a scheme, and black gives a strong outline against a pale ceiling.

Most of ours have a rustic look, and many sit just as happily in a modern room. If a glaze is reactive or crackled, it varies from piece to piece, so expect small differences in colour and pattern between shades, even within the same design. In a row, that variation reads as character rather than a mismatch.

Brass, silver and black fittings on ceramic pendants

The fittings frame the glaze, so they deserve the same thought. Most of our ceramic pendants have fittings made of brass, and most offer them in a choice of finishes, with brass, silver and black among the options. A few also come in copper. Brass warms a brown or white glaze, silver sits quietly beside blue, and black lends a crisp edge to any colour.

The simplest guide is to match the fittings to the other finishes in the room, such as taps, cabinet handles or a curtain pole. Where those are mixed, follow the largest or the nearest piece, and let the glaze carry the colour. Check the product page for the finishes each design offers.

Hanging ceramic pendants over an island or table

Almost all of ours suit a dining room, where a row over the table gives a pool of light for meals. If you are hanging pendants over a kitchen island, the same thinking applies. Space them evenly along its length, and set the outer shades in from the ends so the light falls on the worktop rather than the floor.

Hang them high enough to sit clear of the line of sight, so you can see and talk across the room without peering round a shade, but low enough that the light lands on the surface, not in your eyes. Before the ceiling points are fixed, have someone hold a paper template at the planned height while you check the view from a seat.

Setting the drop on a ceramic pendant light

Most of ours come with a 1m flex as standard, and an electrician can shorten it when hanging the light, so the drop can be set to suit your room. Each product page gives its own length, so check it against your ceiling height before you order.

To work out the drop, measure from the ceiling to where you want the bottom of the shade to sit. Over a table the shade can hang lower, as nobody passes beneath it, but where people walk through, keep it high enough to clear their heads. Under a tall ceiling, check the length on the product page carefully, as you may want a longer drop than the standard flex allows.

Bulbs for a ceramic pendant light

Most of our ceramic pendant lights take an E27 bulb, the larger screw fitting, so you have a wide choice of bulbs. Some take a G9, a small bulb that pushes in on looped pins, so match your bulbs to the fitting. A few have an integrated LED, so no bulb is needed. Some give a cool white light of 4200K. If you prefer a warmer glow, choose a design that takes a bulb.

Bulbs are not included unless the product page says so, which leaves the colour of light up to you. Over a dining table or in a living room, a warm white bulb feels relaxed and flatters wood and skin; over a worktop, a cooler white looks crisper.

IP ratings on ceramic pendant lights

Most of our range is rated IP20. That rating is for dry indoor rooms, such as a living room or dining room, so keep these pendants away from steam and splashing water.

Some are rated IP44, which protects against splashing water from any direction, so they are the ones to choose if you are lighting a bathroom. Before you buy, ask a qualified electrician where in your bathroom the light can safely hang, since the rules depend on how close it would be to the bath or shower.

Cleaning a ceramic pendant light

Turn the light off at the wall and let the bulb and shade cool. Run a soft, dry cloth over the shade and the flex to lift dust, working from the top down. If a glazed shade needs more, a cloth that is barely damp will do, but keep water well clear of the lampholder and the ceiling fitting, and dry the glaze straight afterwards. Brass fittings need nothing more than a dry cloth. Avoid anything abrasive, which can dull a glaze, and never spray directly at the pendant.