---
title: "Workshop journal: choosing lamps, materials, cafés"
description: "Notes from the four makers: how high to hang, 2700K or 3000K, rattan or paper, lamps for cafés and homestays."
canonical: https://denhachi.thenexova.cloud/en/journal
lang: en
last-updated: 2026-10-05
---

Workshop journal

# Workshop journal: choosing lamps, materials, cafés

> Notes from the four makers: how high to hang, 2700K or 3000K, rattan or paper, lamps for cafés and homestays.

Nguồn / Source: https://denhachi.thenexova.cloud/en/journal


Notes from the four makers: how high to hang, 2700K or 3000K, rattan or paper, lamps for cafés and homestays.

- [![A café seen from a mezzanine, rattan pendants hung at different heights above guests sitting by a vine-covered window](/_astro/project-cafe.DiOGteOo_2hsWXm.jpg)Start here · 8 min read · Đặng Thu HàLighting a café under 80 m²: one pool of light per tableWhy evenly lit cafés feel like offices, how to hang one lamp per table, 2700K or 3000K for a café, splitting the switches, and installing without closing for a day.](/en/journal/lighting-a-small-cafe)
- [![Close-up of curved woven strips on a lamp shade, warm light raking across the fibres](/_astro/material-rattan.BrpJdrut_Z1oh1e7.jpg)Start here · 8 min read · Huỳnh Thị MếnRattan pendant lights: what to look for and how to keep themHow to tell a carefully woven shade, how rattan, seagrass and bamboo differ, damp-proofing, cleaning, and why a rattan lamp does not belong in a bathroom.](/en/journal/rattan-pendant-lights-guide)
- [![A wide, rounded woven rattan pendant seen from below, its inside glowing gold against a black background](/_astro/lamp-pendant-rattan.KIx2EtEU_1k30x9.jpg)Start here · 10 min read · Đặng Thu HàPendants for the living and dining room: three numbers to knowHow far above the table, how wide compared with the table, how much light, and an open or closed shade. With a lookup table by table size and ceiling height.](/en/journal/choosing-pendant-lights-living-dining)

- [22 Sept 2026**Export rattan lamps and small-workshop lamps: where they differ**Export goods are made in batches to a foreign buyer's spec; a small workshop makes one lamp for one room. What to check in the weave, frame, cable and socket.Materials · 5 min](/en/journal/export-rattan-lamps-vs-small-workshop)
- [1 Sept 2026**Raw brass darkens over the years, and that is normal**Why uncoated brass lamp frames change colour, whether you can keep them bright, and when a matte black or white frame makes more sense.Materials · 5 min](/en/journal/brass-lamp-patina)
- [25 Aug 2026**A bedside lamp in dó paper: light through bark paper**Dó paper is made from the bark of the dó tree: strong, fibrous, resistant to insects. Why light through it is soft, which bulbs to use, where to avoid it.Materials · 6 min](/en/journal/do-paper-bedside-lamp)
- [18 Aug 2026**2700K or 3000K: choosing warm light for a bedroom**2700K is the yellowish white of an old incandescent bulb, 3000K a warm white with less yellow. Which room suits which, what the box says, and why we use 2700K.Choosing lamps · 5 min](/en/journal/2700k-vs-3000k-bedroom)
- [11 Aug 2026**Choosing lamps for a homestay in a cold, damp town like Đà Lạt**Bedside lamps you can read by without glare when lying down, 4 W or 6 W bulbs, materials that tolerate damp, and how we crate and install from Saigon.Cafés and stays · 5 min](/en/journal/lighting-a-homestay-in-da-lat)
- [21 Jul 2026**Fifteen 6 W bulbs, twelve hours a day: the electricity bill**Work it out yourself: watts times hours times the business tariff. Example: the 90 W set at Thềm Chiều café, using EVN's tariff and the 2026 peak hours.Cafés and stays · 6 min](/en/journal/cafe-lighting-electricity-cost)
- [30 Jun 2026**Rattan, seagrass or bamboo: three fibres, three kinds of light**Rattan bends and can be woven open, so light escapes sideways. Seagrass weaves tight and sends light down. Bamboo is stiff and suits geometric shades.Materials · 5 min](/en/journal/rattan-seagrass-or-bamboo-shades)
- [12 May 2026**Rattan lamps in the rainy season: preventing and treating mould**Why rattan takes on moisture, where not to hang it, monthly cleaning, and what to do if spots appear on the shade. What our warranty covers.Materials · 5 min](/en/journal/rattan-lamps-humidity-care)
- [24 Mar 2026**A 2.6 m ceiling can take a pendant, if it hangs in the right place**Over a table, yes; over a walkway, no. Working out cable length for 2.6 and 2.7 m ceilings, and choosing a flat shade or a tall one.Choosing lamps · 6 min](/en/journal/pendant-lights-low-ceiling)
- [17 Mar 2026**How high above the table, and how many pendants for a long one**About 70 to 80 cm from tabletop to the bottom of the shade. One or two pendants over a 1.6 m table, spacing, and what to do when the ceiling outlet is off-centre.Choosing lamps · 6 min](/en/journal/pendant-height-over-dining-table)