How To Style Raffia Light Pendants
There's something about a raffia light pendant that changes the atmosphere of a room, before you even realise it has.
It softens hard lines, filters light differently, introduces overhead textures, and it's often the most overlooked part of a space that can have such an impact.
Unlike glass or metal lighting, raffia brings movement and warmth. It doesn't dominate a room, it compliments it and settles into its surrounds.
If you're styling one for the first time, here's what to consider.
Start With the Feeling, Not the Fixture
A raffia pendant isn't just a lighting choice, it has the ability to shape the mood of the space beneath it.
For a dining room space, it can create intimacy. In a living room, it can soften and ground what is usually a larger area. In a bedroom, it can help add calm and give an almost resort-like feeling.
Before deciding where to hang your pendant though, think about how you want that space to feel. Raffia works best in rooms where you want that earthy-warmth, and added ease through natural textures.
Let It Be the Feature
Because raffia is so textural, it doesn't need competition. This makes it the best pairing for lightly textured or plastered walls, timber flooring, complimentary linen upholstery, or woven natural fibre floor rugs.
You want to avoid layering too many strong statement pieces directly underneath the pendant. Doing so will allow the pendant to hold the vertical space, and everything below it will be a supporting element - rather than competing.
When hung above a dining table or coffee table, this approach still applies. Keeping the styling minimal ensures that the pendant becomes a natural focal point.
Consider Scale Carefully
Raffia pendants feel light visually, but they still need proportion.
A single larger pendant can transform a room that feels flat or unfinished, while a cluster of pendants work best in open-plan living or above a kitchen island where the ceiling height allows for them.
If your ceilings are higher than standard, don't be afraid to drop the pendants slightly lower. Raffia diffuses light beautifully so it won't feel harsh or overwhelming.
Use Natural Lights to Your Advantage
One of the most beautiful qualities of raffia is how it interacts with natural light. Placed near windows or in rooms with strong natural light, it creates a subtle shadow play and texture that shifts throughout the day.
It doesn't just light the room, it changes the mood of the room as the sun itself shifts from morning to night.
Where Raffia Works Best
Raffia pendants suit interiors that lean into natural materials and those quiet details. They sit very comfortable in coastal homes without feeling beach-themed, a modern interior that has elements of stone and timber, relaxed contemporary spaces, and even guest rooms or bedrooms that are looking for some added softness.
The wonderful thing about raffia is that, through using this material overhead in a pendant form, it immediately brings ease to the space that feels live in and not like staged.
Explore our pendant collection and find the piece that fits you, and your space.
