A chandelier that is too small looks lost, and one that is too big overwhelms the room or gets in the way. Designers use a few simple rules of thumb to size a chandelier for a dining room, an entry or a living room. This calculator applies them.
Diameter for the room
Add the room’s length and width in feet; the result is a good chandelier diameter in inches.
A 14 × 12 ft dining room: 14 + 12 = 26 in.
This works for dining rooms, living rooms and bedrooms. For a two-story foyer, many designers go larger, up to about 2 in of diameter per foot of room size.
Diameter over a table
Over a dining table, the table matters more than the room. Choose a chandelier between one-half and two-thirds of the table width, and keep at least 6 in between the edge of the fixture and each end of the table so nobody bumps their head when standing.
A 42 in wide table: 21 to 28 in.
For a long table, two smaller chandeliers or a linear fixture often work better than one large one.
Fixture height
Allow 2.5 to 3 in of fixture height per foot of ceiling height. For a 9 ft ceiling, that gives a chandelier 22.5 to 27 in tall. Taller ceilings can take taller fixtures or a longer chain.
How high to hang it
- Over a table: the bottom of the chandelier about 30 to 36 in above the tabletop with an 8 ft ceiling, adding about 3 in for each extra foot of ceiling height.
- In an entry or a room where people walk under it: keep at least 7 ft of clearance from the floor to the bottom of the fixture.
- In a two-story foyer, the chandelier should not hang below the second-floor level, so it can be seen from upstairs windows.
Light output
A dining room needs about 30 to 40 lumens per square foot of light from all sources, and a dimmer lets you adjust the mood. For a 14 × 12 ft room, that is roughly 5,000 to 6,700 lumens in total, shared between the chandelier and other lights.
Before you buy
Check the weight of the fixture; heavy chandeliers need a fan-rated or reinforced ceiling box. Cut out a circle of cardboard at the chosen diameter and hold it in place to check the scale before you order.