I foolishly bought a pendant lamp with only a 100 watt halogen light bulb for my dining area. Now that I’ve decided to replace it with a bigger chandalier, how many watts of light should I be looking at? I do have a Lutron dimmer, so it’ll be adjustable. Is total wattage even what I should be looking at? Is there some other measurement to consider?

Because my dining room has a sloping roof, I can really only do a single chandalier or pendant lamp. A single pendant lamp will never be bright enough — so that’s out. Most chandaliers tend to have lamp shades that focus upwards, whereas I know lighting for a dining table should mostly focus downwards — to draw people into the dining area.

What are my options? For what it’s worth, I very much want a modern, contemporary design.