Ideas & Guides
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As with anything decorative, what is “right” is always in the eye of the beholder. Even so, there are some general guidelines we can give you to set you on the right path. Every installation isn’t the same – for instance, if we suggest hanging a 24” diameter chandelier about 30-36” above the table that would look right in a 10 x 12 dining room, but in a massive 24’ x 30’ dining area (with seating for 20 people) and a 20’ ceiling, a larger chandelier (or a series of smaller chandeliers) hung higher would be more appropriate. The size of your room, the height of your ceiling, the size of your chandelier and the size of your table all have a bearing on how high to hang your pendant or chandelier lights. And there’s always the wild card of “personal preference,” like when an extremely tall family is replacing their dining room light fixture, they may literally need a little more headroom.
When our customers ask, “how high should a dining room light be” they’re looking for guidelines, a rule of thumb for what is acceptable. For a standard, 8’ high ceiling the general rule is to hang your pendant/chandelier 30-36” above the table (that’s the distance between the table and the bottom of the fixture). If you’ve got a taller ceiling, your new fixture should be hung a little higher. For every foot of ceiling height above 8’, add 3” to the hanging height of your fixture to make it look proportionally correct. Okay, we’ll do the math for you:
As with all things labeled as “general guidelines,” these figures are to be taken with a grain of salt. If you have selected a particularly oversized or tiny chandelier, you may wish to slightly adjust the height to compensate for the unexpected size.
PRO TIP: If you may be installing more pendants, chandeliers, or outdoor hanging fixtures, invest in a pair of “chain pliers” which make opening and closing chain incredibly easy and professional looking (they’re usually available for under $20).
Although some of our customers have asked, “How far should a light fixture hang from the ceiling,” that’s not the real question. When looking at a pendant or chandelier above a ceiling, people don’t use the distance from the ceiling to the light as a reference; they use the distance from the table to the bottom of the light.
Think about standing in the entry to your dining room or kitchen and looking at the whole picture. You see the ceiling, the new light fixture, the table and the floor and your mind quickly references that it all looks to be in about the right proportions. Your mind is subconsciously thinking, “if I were sitting at that table, would the light be in the right place?”
The only difference that the ceiling height has is that if the ceiling is tall (say, 12’ in height) the proportions will look off if the light is installed at the recommended 30-36” from the tabletop to the bottom of the light fixture … there’s too much space above the light to the ceiling. When you compensate for the tall ceiling (see the section “Standard Height Guidelines” above for a handy chart) and hang the light at 42-48” from the tabletop, your mind goes back to, “Ahhh, that looks about right.”
Creating Visual Balance” is a lighting geek’s way of saying, “Does it look right?” Visual balance can be off for several reasons – for instance, I was looking at one of our customer’s installations where they installed the pendant light above their built-in kitchen table at 36” above the table … but it looks wrong. After a minute I realized it looked wrong because the fixture was basically cylindrical but came to a short cone on the bottom, so the “bulk” of the fixture was in the middle (vertically), but the bottom was a few inches below the bulk. This meant that the fixture looked like it was hung too high, because the literal 36” from table to the bottom of the fixture was measured to the point of the cone. Adding two more chain links (making the fixture 34” from the table) made all the difference in the world.
The style of your room can also have an influence – generally speaking, more traditional chandeliers (think olde-time crystal chandeliers) are hung closer to the table while modern, vibrant chandeliers are hung with a little more height. Think less “traditional vs. modern” and think more “formal vs. casual” with formal lighting being lower and casual lighting being higher.
Other factors may throw off your visual balance. If you have unusually tall windows you may want to add a little height to your fixture. You’ll also want to keep in mind the diner’s views (you don’t want the light to obstruct visual clues during table conversations). Finally, hanging multiple pendants together as a cluster (a growing lighting trend today) allows you to hang them at varying heights, which you should play with until you’re happy with the whole arrangement.
Chandeliers and pendant lighting are the go-to fixtures above dining and kitchen tables, but pendants are being used more-and-more in areas requiring task lighting. Do you have the perfect corner reading nook where you plan to spend unending hours immersed in the latest novel? Rather than a standard floor or table lamp, consider a small cluster of three pendants (at varying heights) as your reading light source instead – it’ll provide you with an ample supply of light, and look WAY more stylish doing so.
There’s no place where pendant lights are the go-to selection for task lighting more than over a kitchen island or peninsula. Kitchen islands are extremely versatile places, and serve as kitchen prep areas, cooking organization space, and finally (all cleaned up) as small dining spaces. Each of these functions may need varying levels of light (Tons of light during prep, less during cooking, back to high again during cleanup and finally a softer, gentler light for dinner) … which can best be handled using a dimmer switch for your lighting.
Although working with any electrical item in the home has challenges, pendant lighting is SUPER easy to replace yourself. If you feel uncomfortable with any of the steps listed here, please hire an electrician or handyman to replace your old pendant with your gorgeous new one.
Note that there are a few different kinds of pendants when it comes to how they hang from the ceiling, chain hung (only chain from ceiling to the light fixture), rod hung (varying lengths of rods can be used to get the fixture to the right height, connected by at least one chain to the fixture canopy) and cord hung (the power cord is typically braided, making it both the manner of support and the conduit for the power).
The type of pendant/chandelier that you choose is not only dependent on style, but shape as well. For instance, if your dining table happens to be a 10’ long live edge walnut tabletop, a central pendant or chandelier wouldn’t do it justice. In that case, a linear pendant (long and rectangular’ish) would be a better solution to properly light the expanse of the table. The same table could be lit by three large pendants, space 2’ from each other, to provide ample lighting.
When considering the style of your pendant or chandelier, understand that it’ll end up being the focal point of the room. People sit apart under the fixture, focused on each other with the pendant in the center; it’s gonna be noticed. Take your time with this one, find the pendants that not only fit your room’s style, but reflects your own personal style as well.
Selecting the right size pendant is also subjective, but thankfully there is a good rule of thumb available.
FOR A PENDANT: Take your table length and subtract one foot. Next, take your table width and subtract one foot. Add these to figures together and that’s the number of INCHES your pendant should be.
For instance, for a 4-foot-wide table that is 10-feet long the math would be (4-1) + (10-1) = 12. Your pendant should be a maximum of 12” wide.
FOR A CHANDELIER: Measure the width of your table and subtract 12” to get your optimum size.
As the title suggests, in the end the height of your pendant/chandelier above your table is up to you. That doesn’t mean we’re going to leave you on your own – we’re always here to help. Here are some ideas for how you can get the height of your fixture JUST RIGHT.
Open the quick link and hang from the ceiling ring. Hang your chain by this quick link, moving up or down a few chain links until the fixture is just the right height. Remove any excess chain and continue hanging the fixture. NOTE: If you weren’t provided with a quick link, you can use an open chain link to the same effect.
In the end, it’s all about getting the height to be right for you – so put up the new light and if it seems off, you can adjust it.
Getting the right amount of space between your table and your new pendants or chandelier involves a general starting point (30-36” for an 8’ ceiling), a few adjustments and a subjective rest or two to see what looks right to you. Your goal is twofold; have a functional ceiling light and have it look amazing. Follow these guidelines to install your new pendants or chandelier and you’ll have everything in (the right) place to wow your guests at your next event. The fun part is selecting from the thousands of options we have available here at 1StopLighting, all at the lowest prices on the Internet. 1StopLighting – your one stop for all your lighting needs.