How Low Should Chandeliers Hang?

Dining Room

One of the most common places to hang a chandelier is above the dining table. Your chandelier should hang from 30 to 39 inches above your table. With an 8-foot ceiling 30 inches is probably sufficient, but you'll want to shorten the chain by at least a few inches for a higher ceiling. A low-hanging chandelier lends a cozy feel, while hanging a fixture a bit higher gives a more formal feel. The chandelier should be approximately eye level when you walk into the room. The diameter of the chandelier should be about 1 foot less than the width of your table so no one bumps their head when getting up from the table. The edges of the chandelier should also be at least 4 feet from the walls of the room.

A chandelier in a foyer, entryway, or hall, should hang much higher than a dining room chandelier because you will walk under it. Allow at least 6.5 feet of clearance from the floor. If you have an open foyer, take both levels of the room into account. Hang it at about knee level from a stairway landing and make sure that it illuminates the stairs well. You might also want to consider a two-tier chandelier for multi-story spaces.

To incorporate a chandelier into a living room seating area consider the placement to help determine which height is appropriate. Hang the fixture at eye level if it is part of a seating area with a table, but be sure to leave a 6.5-foot clearance if it obstructs a walkway. Remember, a chandelier doesn't need to hang in the center of the room -- you can center it over a table or seating nook.

To figure out what size of chandelier to buy, add together with length and width of the room in feet to get a diameter for the chandelier in inches (12 feet + 14 feet = 26-inch chandelier). Also, consider how much light your chandelier is putting out. You don't want the bulbs too bright, since they may be at eye level and cause glare, so stick with lower wattage bulbs -- approximately 25 watts per bulb. Another good option is to install a dimmer switch so that you can raise and lower the amount of light from the chandelier.