Types of Farmhouse Lighting

An elegant white dining room in a custom farmhouse

Photo by Chad Mellon

Lighting is essential to any home, and farmhouse lighting will add just the right country pizzazz to your style. But what kinds of lights should you use? Here are the best types of farmhouse lighting for your home.

Farmhouse sitting area with farmhouse lighting chandelier and patterned tile. — In Jaclyn James’ home, she uses chandeliers in unexpected places to add more farmhouse charm.
Photo by Chad Mellon.

Chandeliers

Ah, the mighty chandelier. This will be your statement piece when it comes to farmhouse lighting, and you can use it in just about any room. A chandelier can be large or small to accommodate the space, and hangs down into the room not only to act as functional light, but also to draw the eye upward, especially in larger spaces such as your dining room. For a guide to sizing your chandelier, look here.

Farmhouse kitchen with two farmhouse lighting pendants. — Homeowner Holly Lauritzen hung two pendant lights above her kitchen island, which adds a modern flavor to the kitchen with the metal accents.
Photo by Michael Hunter.

Pendant Lights

Pendant lights are similar to chandeliers in that they hang down from the ceiling. But whereas chandeliers have many bulbs that branch out from the single light, pendant lights have fewer bulbs—often just one. Depending on your space, they can work well individually or in a group (try three together), often in the kitchen above the island or sink area.

Historic farmhouse kitchen with glass planed cabinets and window — In this early-1900s home by architect Gary Brewer, the kitchen has multiple forms of farmhouse lighting: a flush mount light in the middle of the kitchen, as well as a pendant light over the sink.
Photo by Francis Dzikowski.

Flush Mounts

Flush mounts are lights that are fixed to the ceiling, but don’t hang down far into the room like a chandelier or pendant light. Instead, they’re closer to the ceiling (“flush” with the wall). Flush mounts are a type of ambient light, meaning they’re a functional light to brighten the whole space. Flush mounts are great for small spaces where you only want one light switch to turn on, such as mudrooms, hallways and sometimes bedrooms.

Guest bathroom with pedestal sink, open shelves, and farmhouse details. — In Samantha Young’s California farmhouse, she uses wall sconces in her bathrooms as vanity lighting.
Photo by Bret Gum.

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are lights that attach to the side wall instead of the ceiling. Sconces can be used in a variety of spaces, and are good for small spaces like bathrooms, hallways and window seats.

Vanity lighting is often listed on home decor shopping sites as separate from other wall sconces. The main difference? Usually traditional wall sconces have one light, whereas bathroom vanity lighting often has several bulbs coming from one fixture, as in the bathroom above. However, feel free to interchange them, depending on the needs of your spaces.

Master bedroom with ceiling fan for types of farmhouse lighting — In the master bedroom of Jennifer Maxcy’s home, the ceiling fan works together with the table lamps on the nightstands to create a wholistic farmhouse lighting scheme for the room.
Photo by Lu Tapp.

Fan Lights

Should you use a ceiling fan as your main lighting in a room? Well, maybe. While fan lights are fine, they’re often not as bright as other types of ambient lighting, and will work best paired with other types of lighting, even in smaller spaces like bedrooms. You can certainly use your ceiling fan as part of your farmhouse lighting lineup, but use it alongside other lights too, such as lamps.

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Table Lamps

Table lamps are one of the most versatile type of lighting because you can put them on almost any flat surface, from a side table to a nightstand or even on top of the piano. Use table lamps to fill in where your other lighting doesn’t reach. To make your table lamps fit your farmhouse lighting style, try pieces with metal bases for an industrial feel.

A living room with a stone fireplace and a cozy gray couch in a custom farmhouse. — Jaclyn’s living room showcases both an elaborate floor lamp on the right, and a table lamp on the left. The light from these two will overlap to provide adequate lighting on the far side of the room.
Photo by Chad Mellon.

Floor Lamps

Like table lamps, floor lamps can go wherever you don’t have other lights. They’re useful for spaces where there’s no electrical wiring for ceiling lights, and you don’t want to rip out part of the ceiling to add some. Try lamps with wood or metal bases, plus a simple and neutral lamp shade.

Ready to learn more? Check out our chandelier size guide! Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!