Contemporary pendant lights are good to create ambient light, however retractable versions can be used over a table in the dinning room while background lighting is dimmed to create intimacy and focus. The Pendant has to be at the correct height as glare from the light source can be uncomfortable for family and guests.
Pursuing a hobby is a chance to switch off from the stress of daily life and unwind. But some activities can be hard on the eyes. Making out tiny details with modern pendant lights when painting, modelling or repairing a workpiece calls for not just intense concentration but also lots of light. Hence the recommendation from FGL that "leisure workplace" lighting should be designed to meet standards observed in the working world. These are defined in the standard "Light and lighting – Contemporary Pendant Lighting of indoor workplaces". The rule of thumb is that the less marked the contrast and the greater the duration of the visual task, the higher the illuminance required. For rough work such as carpentry at a workbench, at least 300 to 750 lux illuminance is needed. For finer, more detailed work like embroidery, sorting postage stamps or modelling, illuminance needs to be raised to at least 1,000 – 1,500 lux. For comparison: 1 lux is the amount of light generated by a normal candle flame at a distance of one metre. Good contemporary + modern lighting is realised with pendant luminaires, e.g. wide-angle louver luminaires. These prevent the glare that can be caused, in particular, by general diffuse lamps. For detailed work, supplementary luminaires are advisable. Wall, desk and standard modern pendant light and luminaires with adjustible arm and reflector of pendant lighting make for higher lighting levels. However, the light they cast must not create disturbing shadows, so care needs to be taken to ensure that incident light for right-handers falls from the left and light for left-handers from the right. As a matter of principle, the luminaires should be arranged so that their light strikes the work surface from the side or at an angle from behind.
For examining postage stamps or studying very fine detail, magnifying luminaires are an extremely practical solution. Contemporary pendant lights, mounted on an articulated arm secured to the desk or wall, they can be positioned to suit individual requirements. Magnifying modern pendant luminaires are fitted with incandescent lamps or ring-shaped fluorescent lamps. All lamps used in hobby rooms should have good to very good colour rendering properties (Ra index ≥ 80) to ensure that colours can be correctly assessed. Nearly all lamps used for indoor lighting meet this requirement.