Gold does its work before the light is switched on, picking up what is already in the room and handing it back warm. That is why a gold chandelier tends to become the center of a dining room or an entry.

From rings to crystal

Ring designs keep the shape plain: Janet stacks two to five metallic gold rings on adjustable straps, and Charlotte threads three to five through a gold or black frame. Crystal designs break the light up instead, so Indra suspends 8 to 49 droplets down a 79-inch drop. For a stairwell, Kasper runs 5 to 32 lights on individually adjustable wires.

Sizing a chandelier

Add the room's length and width in feet and read the sum as inches of minimum diameter, so a 14 by 18-foot dining room takes a piece around 32 inches. Over a table, span half to two-thirds of the table's length and hang it 30 to 36 inches above the surface. In an entry, keep 7 feet of clearance. Everything here runs warm white at 3000K, and most of the range works with a standard wall dimmer.

Gold through the rest of the room

Gold rewards repetition. Run the same tone into gold pendant lights over an island, or carry it onto the walls with sconces. The wider range of gold light fixtures covers ceiling lights and lamps in the same tones. Dining rooms, entries and stairwells are the natural homes.

Start at the table or the entry, size generously, and match the gold to the metal already in the room.