Alabaster Pendant Lights

An alabaster pendant light does not carry the light, it holds it. This translucent stone, cut into thin plates or solid spheres, glows from within and turns the fitting into a block of light. This selection gathers 10 models, among the most remarkable in our catalogue.

Alabaster overhead, an object made of light

Few materials will take being hung and lit through at the same time. Alabaster manages it thanks to its crystalline structure: cut thin enough, it lets the light pass while keeping its clouded veining, so that a lit alabaster pendant light shows a drawing that is invisible in daylight. The light it gives is warm, enveloping, and above all free of any hot spot, which matters especially above a table where the fitting sits at eye level. Switched off, the stone keeps a milky look somewhere between marble and porcelain, and holds its place in a room perfectly well.

The brass and black mounts of our alabaster pendant lights

Two approaches live side by side in this collection of alabaster pendant lights. The solid spheres and globes, carved from the block, diffuse through 360 degrees and suit entrance halls as well as dining rooms; they are the most striking, and the heaviest. The plate models, where the alabaster forms a disc or a cylinder on a slim structure, direct more of the light downwards. The mounts divide between a gold brass finish, which carries on the warmth of the stone, and matt black, which isolates it and makes it read as a floating volume; brass is the best-structured material route on the British market and it belongs in this collection as much as the stone does. A few pieces pair the alabaster with wood or travertine.

Where to fit an alabaster pendant light

The dining room is the most obvious spot: centred above the table, 75 to 85 cm from the top, an alabaster pendant light makes exactly the atmosphere you want for dinner, warm and free of glare. The entrance hall comes next, where translucent stone acts as a signal of light the moment the door opens. In a bedroom, a small-diameter model dropped low beside the bed is an elegant replacement for a bedside lamp. Always check the weight stated: solid alabaster is heavy and needs a fixing matched to the ceiling, never a plasterboard hook, and that figure is what your electrician will ask for first.

Choosing well among our alabaster pendant lights

The thickness of the stone decides everything. The thinner the plate, the more light passes and the more the veining shows; the thicker it is, the more the object exists switched off and the less it glows. Our pages state how each alabaster pendant light renders. The light source counts almost as much: alabaster copes badly with bulbs that are too powerful, which flatten its drawing into a white patch. Choose an LED around 3000 K, ideally dimmable, so you can set the intensity to the moment. Last, check the wiring and drop supplied and whether it adjusts before you order.

Every product page sets out the dimensions, the weight, the mount finish and the light source. For a comparable diffusion in a more accessible material, look at our opal glass pendant lights.