Top 5 Design Questions – Your Lighting Questions Answered
There are several design questions we get asked over and over again, so we thought, hey, let’s compile the answers into a 5-part series and share them. Today we’re sharing the proper size and placement rules to follow for hanging several different types of lighting. Lighting is an important element in any room. It can set a romantic mood or offer a bright, playful vibe. However, the rules of where to hang a light fixture vary by room and can be tricky to master. We break down the size and placement guidelines for pendants, chandeliers, and sconces, taking the guesswork out of how to hang them.
Entry Chandelier
An entryway is a guest’s first impression of your home, and chandeliers often play a huge role. You want to choose a chandelier that reflects your home’s style and is the right size for your space—a small light will look dwarfed, while a chandelier that is too large can overpower a room. Here are two important measurements to take into consideration when choosing the correct chandelier size: height and diameter.
Height
The higher the ceiling, the taller the chandelier. The rule of thumb is to accommodate 2 ½ -3 inches of chandelier height for each foot of ceiling height. A standard 8-foot ceiling requires a chandelier that is 20-24 inches in height.
Diameter
Once you have the height, it’s time to figure out the diameter. Here’s a trick- add the height and the width of the room together. Treat that sum as inches, and you have the suggested diameter of the chandelier for that space. For example, if the room is 20 by 18 feet, the sum is 38 feet. The approximate diameter of a chandelier in that area is 38 inches.
Chandeliers Over a Dining Room Table
In a dining room, it is key to measure accurately to ensure perfect placement of the right-size light. Chandeliers should be centered over the dining table. The exception to this is if you are placing two smaller chandeliers over the table instead of one.
Size (Height and Diameter)
To avoid bumping heads, a chandelier hung above a table should have a diameter 1 foot narrower than the table’s width.
Placement
The light fixture should be hung 30-34 inches above the dining table. This same rule holds true for lighting over kitchen tables. For ceilings higher than 8 feet, add about three inches to the hanging height per foot. So if your ceiling is 10 feet tall, your lighting fixture should be hung 36-40 inches over the table.
Pendants Over an Island
Pendants over an island are a great way to provide task lighting, while serving as visual and design focal points in a room. When we are selecting and hanging pendant lights over an island there are a couple of rules of thumb that we use to make sure the lights are sized, spaced and hung appropriately.
Size
As a general rule of thumb, measure the width of the island and subtract by 12 to determine the maximum width your lighting should be.
Placement
You want to space your pendants approximately two feet apart. That means that if you have a smaller island that is in the 4-5 foot range you need two small or two medium pendants. If you have a larger island, you will need three medium or three large pendants. For spacing your pendants over your island you first want to find the center point of the island. For a smaller island that only requires two pendants, you want to find the center point and then space the lights 30-36 inches apart with the widest part of the pendant being 30 inches from the other pendant. If you have a larger island that requires three pendants, you want to hang the first pendant directly over the midline of the island. Once the middle pendant is established, hang the other two at least 30 inches apart.
Living Room Chandeliers
Chandeliers in a hallway or a large room can make an impressive statement as well as provide ambient lighting for the entire room.
Size
Again, a good way to determine the correct size fixture is to add the length and width of the room measured in feet, then convert this number to inches. If your room measures 18′ x 22′, look for a chandelier with a diameter of 40 inches. An important factor to keep in mind is that this rule of thumb assumes that you have a ceiling height proportional to the room’s dimensions. Hanging a large chandelier in a room with 8 foot ceiling will not work.
Placement
For optimal lighting, you want to position the chandelier in the center of the living space, generally over the coffee table. Since lots of people will be moving around in this space, hang the chandelier at least 7 feet from the floor to avoid people bumping into it.
Bathroom Vanity Sconces
Good, functional lighting is needed around the bathroom vanity mirror and sink area. Wall sconces are a great source of supplementary light. The primary place to hang wall sconces in the bathroom is on either side of the bathroom vanity mirror.
Size
The size of the sconce really depends on the size of the space. Just make sure they are in proportion with the size of your vanity as well as the mirrors.
Placement
The height at which to hang the sconces will depend on the individuals using the bathroom. They should be hung around eye level to fill in the sides of your face with light, approximately 65 to 70 inches from the floor. Vanity lights mounted above mirrors should be mounted approximately 40″ above the counter top to center of fixture in order to allow for a mirror that is 36″ tall.
We hope this post has covered all of your basic lighting questions – Happy lighting!
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Hello, Thank you for this very informative series!
I know I’m a few months late to the party but I was wondering if the style of a ceiling lighting fixture could influence the decision to go a little bigger ( width wise) in a entryway? For example my small entryway is about 6’X10′ with 8ft ceilings and there are stairs going up that eventually turn midway up to left to go upstairs. I am considering the small Visual Comfort Soleil pendant which is 16″ in width. I don’t know if you are familiar with it but it has a central light that’s is 6″ in diameter (60W) and the other 10″ are triangular “rays” coming from the central light all around ( it reminds me of the crown that the Statue of Liberty wears). I feel that I might be able to go a little bigger given the style of the light with the center light being only 6″ in diameter and the rest of the light being kind of ” airy”. Also, the 60W bulb will probably too dim to light the already dark hallway and the first half of the stairs. The next size in this fixture is 24″ diameter ( 8″ center light). Any thoughts on this or do you think the size rule is what most of us lay people should stick to ?
Thank you!
What is the guideline for hanging a light fixture over the middle of the stairway? Height to hang it from the ceiling? diameter and height of the light fixture guidelines. Thank you!
Hi! Chandeliers should not be be lower than 7 feet from the floor to the bottom of the chandelier. Most foyer light fixtures are installed at window level where you can see the chandelier from outside your home. 🙂 As for the diameter, add the width of the foyer to its length in feet. It’s sum will give you the rough diameter of the right-sized chandelier in inches. Hope this helps and good luck!
It really helped when you said that the chandelier should be hanged at seven feet above the ground to keep people from hitting it. I will keep that in mind since I wanted to buy one this coming December to put it in the middle of the living room. This is because the theme that I want my house to be in for next year is an elegant and expensive look which I got inspired with when I saw it in the magazine.
Glad we helped Millie! Thanks for reading!
Hi actually I have one question,you told in this article regarding scounces in vanity.i want to know about hanging light at mirror of vanity like it’s placement distance from mirror wall in ceiling ?
can you please tell me if pendant lights should be centered over the base cabinetry of an island (36″ wide) or over the countertop itself? my island will be 44″ x 96″ with a 10″ overhang on one of the long sides. my husband thinks the pendant lights (i’m using two because they are 18″ wide each and think three might overpower the space plus block my main kitchen window) should be centered of the countertop but i think it should be centered with the base cabinetry. help!
Center with the top of the kitchen island to cover the sitting area of the island or the workspace….I just had some hung.
Hi, we have a similar size island that is 96″ long with three pendant mounting locations spaced 32″ apart. We fell in love with a pendant that is 15″ wide. It was suggested that two pendants may be all that is needed for our island (or would three be better?). If two is the case, is the spacing between both pendants going to be too far apart if a pendant is installed in the first and third location (leaving the middle location blank)? It looks like spacing between both pendants’ inner edges would be 49″, and about 8.5″ from a pendant’s outer edge to the end of the island. Thanks in advance
I have essentially the same question. 96″ long island with 12″ pendants. Three would fall exactly at each end of the countertop, yet two would have about 60″ between if placed 12″ from each end. It’s a but of a quandary. Don’t want too many and don’t want too few.
Hi, try finding the center point of the island and spacing 2 pendants at least 30″ apart from that center point. Hope this is helpful 🙂
Hi, been crazy busy here at the office so I apologize for not getting back to you sooner! Not sure what you ending up doing with this but if you used the 2 outer mounting locations then the pendants will be right at the edge of the countertop. I think the spacing between pendants is fine as long as you’re okay with the pendants being closer to the edges of the island rather than the center. Send a picture of what you ended up with, would love to see 🙂
It makes sense that you would want to make sure that you want to check the size of all the other fixtures. This way you can make sure that it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the home. My sister might like a tip like this as she looks to get home decor light fixtures.
I have a large room with high ceilings. If I do the math for formula to choose how large the chandelier should be and I decide to hang 2 fixtures, should I divide the total number in half to equal size for the 2 fixtures ?
Hello, I appreciate the island pendant light tips. I have an island 99″ long, center would be 49-1/2″, planning to use 3-pendant lights. The sink/faucet is at 38-1/2″ from the right end of the countertop, not centered in the countertop. Should the center of 3-pendants be hung at the midline of the counter or centered over the sink?
I’m going to have a 130″ island; how many hanging lights should?
Hi, the answer to this will depend on the size of the light fixture you are purchasing.
I am looking to purchase a chandelier for my living room which is 12’3″ x 12’10”. According to most guidelines, the fixture should be 24-25″ in width. It is an airy looking fixture with a large, iron prism containing a much smaller, glass prism inside. I have a 9′ ceiling in that room, but because of the airy nature of the fixture can I exceed the recommended maximum 27″ height for this chandelier?
I have an island 4” wide by 9” Long with a bundle of 5 round base fixture mason jar lights and I am having trouble placing them 🤷🏽♀️
I am going to hang a Tiffany lamp over a small table that usually seats 2, but once a day we pull it out to seat another person, and then push it back. Where do I center the lamp over the table when it’s against the window or where I pull it out for another seat?
It is best to center the lamp over where the table will most of the time be. Hope this is helpful 🙂
your article stated “The exception to this is if you are placing two smaller chandeliers over the table instead of one” how should they be hung distance form center or end of the table
Hey, if you are hanging 2 chandeliers they should be at least 30″ apart and centered on the table. So if you find the center point of the table, measure out 15″ from there to the left and 15″ from there to the right for each fixture. Remember that you are not measure the distance from the point that it’s being hung, rather from the edge of the furthest point of the fixture. So if it has a lamp shape that reaches out further then that is where the distance should be measured from. Hope this is helpful!
We have a 13′ Long Island. Can we get away with 3 pendant lights? I was figuring the lights would be spaced 4′ apart with 2.5′ to the end of the countertop. If we can get away with 3 pendant lights with the 13′ island, what size pendants do you recommend? Thanks.. your article was super helpful!
Hey! Sorry for the late reply. If you have 13′ to work with and want to keep 2.5′ at the end of each side of the island that gives you 8′ or 96″ to work with. If you want 3 pendants you can get something about 8″ in diameter and space each ceiling mount 34″ apart (4′ would be too far apart to get 3 pendants and 2.5′ on each end). A great thing to do would be to cut out round pieces of paper to scale and place them on your counter top for a visual! Hope this helps!
I only have 8 foot ceilings. Looking to purchase new pendant lights over my kitchen island. How to I determine the height of my light fixtures? I was looking at one that is 17″ but not sure that will give me enough ‘hang’ between the top of the fixture and the ceiling? Thanks so much for your feedback!:-)
When hanging pendants over a kitchen island, the distance between the bottom of your pendant lights and your countertop should generally be between 30″-36″.
32″ is great spacing between the countertop and bottom of the fixture. Ceiling height-countertop height-32″=overall height allowance from bottom of fixture to ceiling (including chain and canopy). Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for replying! Appreciate your comments – helpful!
Good article with an excellent way of presentation. Keep it up. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed!! Thank you!
I found a pendant that is 5 inches wide and 6 3/4 inches high. My island will be 45 inches long and 28 inches wide. I’m really confused about using two or three pendants. I also read that the space between pendants can be the same as the width of the pendant. Most sites say place pendants 30 inches apart. Help.
Two pendants, three would be too much and not enough spacing in between.
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