How High Should I Hang My Chandelier?
A chandelier is the perfect complement to your dining room, or any room for that matter! It gives you just the right light above your food, and if you hang it properly, it will reflect perfectly and make everything in the room look spectacular.
But as Hinkley’s Custom Lighting, a Scottsdale lighting store, notes, the process of purchasing and hanging one can be tricky. You must know how big of a chandelier to purchase, where to install it, and how high to hang it. This is all important in order to receive the full benefits of your new chandelier.
People purchase chandeliers not only for their dining room, but also for their living room, foyer, den, kitchen, and bedroom. How high to hang your chandelier depends on the size of the room you install it in and your ceiling height.
Living Room Chandelier
If you want a formal and impressive vibe for your home, a chandelier in the living room is a great option. When hanging it, make sure to hang it at least 7 feet above the ground with an 8-foot ceiling. This will prevent someone from hitting their head on it. If you have a taller ceiling, just be sure to hang it at least 7 to 8 feet above ground level.
Overstock.com says that if you have a two-story ceiling, never hang it below the height of the first floor. This means if your first story is 8 feet high, making your total ceiling height 16 feet high, don’t hang your chandelier lower than 8 feet. You don’t want it to be too low.
Hallway/Foyer Chandelier
It is very impressive to be welcomed inside by a large, beautiful chandelier. It gives the house a certain feel to visitors upon walking inside. When installing your chandelier in the walkway, you should follow most of the same guidelines in the previous example, because people will be walking under it. The bottom of the chandelier should be at least 6 inches above the top of the door.
Dining Room Chandelier
Installing a new chandelier in the dining room is different. Instead of going off the distance from the floor to the ceiling, you will go by the distance from tabletop to ceiling. You want to hang the chandelier about 34 inches above the table with an 8-foot ceiling. According to Wolberg.com, you should hang it an additional 3 inches higher for every extra foot of ceiling.
That means if you have a 10-foot ceiling, you will hang it 40 inches above your table instead of 34 inches. To be sure no one hits their head when getting up from the table, be sure your chandelier of choice is at least one foot narrower than the width of your table. This way, no matter how low you hang your chandelier, everyone will be safe against head bumps.
Above an Island
This option is about the same as the dining room. You will hang your chandelier somewhere between 28 and 34 inches above your kitchen island, or 5 feet from the ground if you have an 8-foot ceiling.
Chandelier Lighting
The main goal with a chandelier is to get the lighting just right so that it accents everything and everyone in the room, and to make sure that it isn’t hazardous to anyone in the room.
Sometimes, even when you hang it exactly as recommended, your lighting will still not be what you are looking for. There are ways to fix this problem. With some fixtures, you can get mini shades to go over each main light bulb on the chandelier, so the light isn’t too overpowering, or you could get low wattage bulbs. Since there are numerous light bulbs in a chandelier, you will still have plenty of light for whichever room you install it in.
Because lighting is based on personal preference, you might just have to play around with some different effects in order to find the perfect lighting for you.
Tips for Purchasing a Chandelier
When choosing a chandelier for your dining room table or an island, choose a light fixture that doesn’t have any lights that point directly down, because according to Lamps Plus, having no central downlight will enhance the dining room table setting and centerpiece.
For hallways, foyers, bedrooms, and other large rooms, you want to get a chandelier that is larger than that of a dining room table chandelier so that it comfortably fills the area.
If your chandelier is for decoration, choose one that has fewer lights in it. This will cut down on the amount of light coming from it and the lighting costs. On the other hand, if it is going to be used to light a large room, choose one with many lights on it.
As you see, there are many factors to consider when choosing and hanging a chandelier. It is important to follow the above guidelines when hanging your chandelier for optimal lighting benefits.