Fix six things before the ceiling closes: fixture position, circuit grouping, switching logic, ceiling aperture or cove geometry, driver location, and control wiring. Everything decided after that is decoration. In our own catalogue 762 of 1,381 products hang from a ceiling, and only one publishes a gross weight, so the site survey and the written schedule carry the load.
What a lighting schedule has to fix
A lighting schedule is the drawing that names every fixture, its position, the circuit it sits on and the switch that operates it, and it has to be finished before the ceiling closes. Six items belong on it, and those same six govern 762 of the 1,381 products in our own catalogue: the fixture position, the circuit grouping, the switching logic, the ceiling aperture or cove geometry, the driver and transformer location, and the control wiring. Each one is cheap to change while the joists are open and expensive afterwards, because moving a cable drop means reopening a finished ceiling. The order matters, and it is not the order most people work in: fixture position depends on furniture, so the furniture layout has to be settled before the electrical first fix rather than after it. Draw the schedule around the furniture, not around the ceiling grid, and note on it which items are still open so the electrician knows what to hold. Once the layers are fixed, the level each one has to reach is a separate calculation, and the room-by-room figures and the lumen method are in lumens per square foot by room.
| Item on the schedule | What it fixes | Decided by | Cost of changing it after the ceiling closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixture position | Where the drop lands | Furniture layout and the stated width or diameter | High: the box moves and the ceiling is made good |
| Circuit grouping | The number of cables leaving the switch | Which lights must switch together | High: a new cable run |
| Switching logic | Where each group is operated | Doorways, bed position, night route | Medium: a cable to the switch |
| Aperture or cove geometry | The reveal the light leaves from | Joist direction and ceiling build-up | High: joinery is rebuilt |
| Driver and transformer | Where the gear lives and how it breathes | Access and ventilation | High if boxed in without an access hatch |
| Control wiring | Whether dimming or scenes are possible | The chosen control system | Very high: control cable is the hardest thing to add later |
Position comes from the furniture and from one stated dimension
Every fixture line on the schedule resolves to a number, and for a chandelier or a pendant that number is the stated width or diameter of the body. On 16 October 2026 our catalogue carried 762 ceiling-mounted products out of 1,381, covering 5,864 of 9,851 variants, and 1,696 of those variants publish a machine-readable footprint in the variant name. Those 1,696 variants resolve to 84 distinct values running from 13 cm (5.1 in) to 250 cm (98.4 in), with a median of 69.25 cm (27.3 in), which is the range that decides whether a drop point reads as centred over a table or lost in a ceiling field. The position is therefore not a ceiling decision at all: it is the furniture layout expressed as a ceiling coordinate, and on a long table the fixture centre should sit on the table centre rather than on the room centre.
| Signal on the schedule | First-party figure, 16 October 2026 | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Ceiling-mounted products | 762 of 1,381 products; 5,864 of 9,851 variants | Whether the ceiling first fix governs the job |
| Variants stating a footprint | 1,696 | Whether the drop point can be fixed from the listing alone |
| Distinct footprint values | 84, from 13 cm (5.1 in) to 250 cm (98.4 in), median 69.25 cm (27.3 in) | The spread the position has to work across |
Circuits and switching: count the drops before you count the lights
Count cable drops, not fixtures, because the number of drops is what the first fix actually costs. Five groups cover a normal dwelling, and 229 of the 230 products that state an installation type are hardwired: general ceiling light, task or accent light over a surface, cove or coffer light, cabinet and interior light inside joinery, and a low-level night path. Order them so that each group can be operated on its own, then answer four switching questions on paper: which group comes on at the entrance, which groups are operated from the bed, whether the bedroom needs a two-way switch at door and bedside, and which groups a single departure switch should kill. A group that cannot be isolated is a group that will be left off, and the room will read flatter for it. Put the answers on the schedule, because a switch position invented on the day the plate is fitted will not match the wiring. A room served by a cord and a socket rather than a switched box belongs on the same schedule, and the plug-in route sets out what that entry has to contain.
- General ceiling light, switched at the room entrance.
- Task or accent light over the table, worktop or desk, switched separately from the general light.
- Cove or coffer light, on its own switch so the room can run at low level.
- Cabinet and interior light inside joinery, with the switch where the door opens.
- Low-level night path, on a dimmer or a separate circuit so it never comes on at full output.
Cove, aperture and where the hidden gear lives
A cove is a dimensioned detail, not a groove someone cuts on site. A wall-washing cove along a perimeter needs a ledge roughly 15 to 20 cm wide and at least 10 cm deep so the strip sits inside the profile and the light grazes the wall instead of pooling at the opening; a stepped or coffered ceiling usually wants 12 to 15 cm of height with the strip set on the side face or in a 45 degree profile. Output is chosen per run rather than per room: 4.8 W per metre for wall skirting and stair treads, and 9.6 W per metre for a ceiling run. Keep the strip 3 to 5 cm off the wall face, specify 12 V or 24 V where the strip can be touched, and mark the driver position and an access hatch on the schedule, because a driver sealed above a closed ceiling is the single most expensive omission on the list. The dimensions behind that ledge, the output class that goes with it and the run length a supply will carry are worked through in cove lighting dimensions.
What the listing can and cannot tell you before you order
Some first-fix questions can be answered from the product listing, and some cannot, and the split is worth knowing before the ceiling is closed. At 16 October 2026, 818 of our 1,381 products stated 110 to 240 V, so supply voltage rarely constrains the choice; 230 products published a hanging method, and 204 of those specified ceiling mounting on a chain or wire suspension while 201 specified an adjustable wire length; 229 of the same group were hardwired against one plug-in. Sloped ceiling adaptability was declared on 230 products, 204 as adaptable and 18 as not, which means the pitch has to be settled before the model is chosen rather than afterwards. What the listing does not carry is weight: one product out of 1,381 published a gross figure, so the structural check stays a site question. Electrical approval is the other fact a listing rarely carries, and for North American projects it decides whether the fixture can be installed at all: CSA, UL and voltage for a custom chandelier in Canada or the USA sets out what that involves.
| Question at first fix | Can the listing answer it | First-party coverage, 16 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Will it run on this supply | Usually yes | 818 of 1,381 products state 110 to 240 V |
| How is it suspended | Often yes | 230 products state a hanging method; 204 chain or wire, 201 adjustable length |
| Is it hardwired or plug-in | Often yes | 229 hardwired against 1 plug-in |
| Will it fit a sloped ceiling | Sometimes | 230 declare it; 204 adaptable, 18 not, 8 not applicable |
| What will the ceiling have to carry | No | One product in 1,381 publishes a gross weight |
The layers and beam angles the schedule has to name
A schedule that lists fixtures without naming their job produces a room that is bright and flat, because brightness is not the same as structure. Three layers belong on the drawing: a general layer that makes the room usable, an accent layer that puts light on a chosen surface, and an ambient layer that adds texture at low level. Beam angle is the parameter that turns a layer into a result, and the working convention splits into three groups: about 15 degrees for a narrow throw onto an object, about 36 degrees over a dining table or a coffee table, and about 50 degrees for a kitchen, a bathroom or a circulation route where even coverage matters more than punch. Three conditions move the choice: ceiling height, distance from the wall, and the size of the thing being lit.
| Beam angle | Typical use | Coverage behaviour | What it is not for |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 15 degrees | An object: sculpture, artwork, a plant | Narrow, high-intensity pool of light | General illumination of a room |
| About 36 degrees | Above a dining table or a coffee table | A defined pool with a soft edge | Washing a wall evenly |
| About 50 degrees | Kitchen, bathroom, hallway, circulation | Broad and even, lower intensity | Creating a focal point |
When a lighting schedule is not the right tool
A schedule is not the right choice when the room will be renovated again within 12 months, because the survey cost is paid twice. It is not recommended for a single-fixture swap in a finished room where the box already exists, since the position is fixed and the only open questions are the suspension length and the switch. That swap has its own decision tree: converting a recessed light to a chandelier sets out what an existing ceiling box is rated for, how far the canopy has to cover the old aperture, and which routes avoid opening the ceiling. Skip it where the ceiling structure is unresolved, and resolve that first: our catalogue states a load-rated ceiling fixing point on some models and a standard ceiling junction box on others, and neither statement replaces a structural assessment on site. And it will not save a job where the light levels were never agreed in writing, because a schedule records positions and circuits rather than results. Read the load side in what a large chandelier weighs and what a ceiling has to carry, and the pitch case in mounting a chandelier on a sloped or vaulted ceiling.
Two further checks belong on the same visit. Confirm the finished ceiling height at the drop point rather than the structural height, and confirm where the driver, transformer or dimmer can be reached once the ceiling is closed, since the answer changes the circuit plan rather than the fixture. Where the plan has to hold more than one room together, the sequence is set out in coordinating chandeliers through a house, and the colour temperature and dimming side in chandelier colour temperature and dimming.
Numbers and sources
The catalogue figures are first-party and were recomputed mechanically from our own Shopify export of 16 October 2026: 1,381 products, 9,851 variants, 762 ceiling-mounted products, 5,864 ceiling-mounted variants, 1,696 variants stating a footprint over 84 distinct values from 13 cm to 250 cm with a median of 69.25 cm, 818 products stating 110 to 240 V, 230 products stating a hanging method with 204 on chain or wire suspension and 201 adjustable, 204 sloped-ceiling adaptable against 18 not adaptable and 8 not applicable, 229 hardwired against one plug-in, and one product publishing a gross weight. The dimensional conventions, meaning the 15 to 20 cm cove ledge, the 10 cm minimum depth, the 12 to 15 cm coffered height, the 4.8 and 9.6 W per metre outputs, the 3 to 5 cm strip setback and the three beam-angle bands, are trade practice rather than standards, and no measurement of ours sits behind them.
| Figure | Value | Source | Nature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue size | 1,381 products / 9,851 variants | Shopify catalogue export, 16 October 2026 | First-party, recomputed |
| Ceiling-mounted share | 762 products / 5,864 variants | Same export, product type | First-party, recomputed |
| Stated footprints | 1,696 variants, 84 values, 13 to 250 cm, median 69.25 cm | Same export, variant names | First-party, recomputed |
| Supply voltage | 818 products state 110 to 240 V | Same export, specification lines | First-party, recomputed |
| Hanging method | 230 products; 204 chain or wire; 201 adjustable length | Same export, specification lines | First-party, recomputed |
| Sloped ceiling | 230 products; 204 adaptable, 18 not, 8 not applicable | Same export, specification lines | First-party, recomputed |
| Installation type | 229 hardwired, 1 plug-in | Same export, specification lines | First-party, recomputed |
| Gross weight | 1 product of 1,381 | Same export, specification lines | First-party, recomputed |
| Cove geometry | 15 to 20 cm wide, 10 cm or more deep, 12 to 15 cm coffered | Trade convention | Not a standard, not measured here |
| Strip output | 4.8 W per metre; 9.6 W per metre | Trade convention | Not a standard, not measured here |
| Strip setback | 3 to 5 cm off the wall face | Trade convention | Not a standard, not measured here |
| Beam angles | About 15, 36 and 50 degrees | Trade convention | Not a standard, not measured here |
No figure on this page promises a delivered appearance, a light level or a position in search results. Electrical work, including circuit design and the choice of protective device, belongs to a qualified electrician working to the code that applies on site, and structural questions belong to whoever is competent to answer them for that building. The conventions above are design guidance, not a substitute for either.