Finally, discover how to choose the size of your chandeliers depending on the room.
Pendant lights, chandeliers and ceiling lights have become an integral part of our lives! Beyond simple lighting devices, they are extraordinary decorative accessories. But when choosing the size of your chandelier, one question always comes up: what size should a pendant light be ?
Lighting allows you to add a special touch to an interior decoration. They set the right tone and mood for a room. But one thing is to want to use lighting fixtures to enhance your decoration, another is to know how to choose your chandeliers or pendant lights .
Once you have managed to determine the type of lighting that goes perfectly with your style of decoration , contemporary, vintage, modern or even industrial, you still have the difficult task of dimensions. Just know one thing: only when the chandelier is placed at the right size can you discover it in all its splendor.
But do not worry. With my homemade advice and tips, choosing your pendant light will be very easy and, be careful, the right size! This will depend not only on the size of the room, the type of space, but also on a few other things.
Choose the size of your chandelier according to your space.
First of all, know that suspensions exist in different forms. If you have already taken a look at our store (if not, I strongly invite you to do so 😉 ), you must have seen lighting fixtures of all types. Round, flat, geometric, oval, square chandeliers... everyone can find them according to their preferences.
And these chandeliers come in different sizes: large, medium, small, even minimalist. But the most important thing is that your pendant light is suitable for the room in which it will be placed.
Note that a chandelier can be hung almost anywhere in the house. In the entrance, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the dining room, in the bedroom, in the bathroom, in the office, and even in the corridors and under stairs.
A chandelier for your kitchen will not be the same size as one for a room as large as the living room. And what's more, each room in the house will be lit differently.
Everything will therefore depend on the type of space. This is what will first allow you to know whether you need to choose a large pendant light , or rather a medium size or even a small one. Then, you could narrow down your choice based on the exact dimensions of the room.
Choose the size of your chandelier based on the size of the room.
You know what ? Generally, it is the proportions of the room that determine the ideal size for a chandelier. This is why you must first identify the destination part for your suspension.
Once this is done, you can move on to choosing the size of the light fixture. This will largely be determined by the dimensions of the room. And to do this, you should do some small calculations. Nothing too complicated, rest assured. But this is important, in order to identify the ideal size of your future lighting fixture.
To begin, determine the right diameter for your chandelier
As I said, there is nothing simpler to do. With this calculation, you will know the dimensions not to exceed when choosing your chandelier. What will you need? Simply with a tape measure.
Measure the length and width of your room. Add the two measurements. Then multiply the result by 8. And there you have it! You have the ideal diameter for your chandelier . Let's go a little more concrete. Suppose your room is 6 meters long and 4 m wide.
6 m in length + 4 m in width = 10. And 10x8= 80 cm in diameter.
The ideal diameter of your chandelier will therefore be 80 cm.
You have noticed ? The final result is given in centimeters. This isn't very logical, but it's still easy to remember. 😉 And I assure you it works!
But beware ! This calculation is mainly done when the chandelier is placed in the middle of the room. It may happen that your pendant light is hung above an element, like in the kitchen with the central island . What will be the ideal diameter in these cases?
The right diameter for suspension above a reference element
If you want to fix your chandelier above a table or any other furniture, the diameter will be determined according to the latter. This time, you will simply have to take into account the width of the element in question. The diameter of your suspension must measure at least 30 cm less than the width of the reference object, and not be less than this width divided by 2.
Do you find this complicated? In fact, it's even simpler.
Let's say you want to hang your chandelier above a table that is 70 cm wide. The ideal diameter of your luminaire will therefore vary between 40 (the width minus 30 cm) and 35 cm (the width divided by 2).
What about the ideal height for your light fixture?
It's difficult to talk about size without mentioning the height of your suspension . Since we're here, we're going to kill two birds with one stone! Everything will depend on the ceiling height of the room, but generally, for reasons not only of aesthetics, but also of practicability, it is recommended that the base of the suspension be at least 2.15 meters from the floor .
For a chandelier above a dining table, you will need to leave a space of 80 to 120 cm between the surface of the table and the lower part of your pendant light.
If it is a coffee table, there is generally no constraint. We tell ourselves that we won't have to travel. So you can go there according to your tastes and preferences.
Some tips for placing your pendant lights in strategic rooms of the house
Beyond all these elements, a few other factors must be taken into account depending on the room in which the chandelier will be hung.
What size for a kitchen chandelier?
The kitchen is one of the main rooms of the house. Not only must you be able to move around easily, but you must also take into account the dimensions of the work surface. The size of your pendant light must therefore depend on that of the central island .
What size for a dining room chandelier?
The same goes for the dining room. But here, all your attention should be focused on the dining table. Make sure the diameter of your chandelier is between 1/2 and 2/3 of the width of the table. And a little tip, for a round or oval table, prefer round or oval chandeliers, and for a square table, square chandeliers.
How to arrange chandeliers in a hallway?
Generally, the pendant lights are aligned in a hallway. Their size is determined by the width of the latter. But here, the layout is just as important. To have the perfect alignment, measure the length of the hallway and subtract from this value the sum of the diameters of the chandeliers to be installed. Then divide the result by the number of chandeliers to hang.
Let's say your hallway is 250 cm long and you want to place 3 pendant lights of 40 cm each.
It will therefore be: 250-(40+40+40) = 130 and 130/3 = 43.33
You will therefore need to put a distance of 43.33 cm between the chandeliers each time. Remember to respect this measurement from the beginning and end of the corridor. Above all, make sure the pendant lights are centered in the middle of the available space.
Your lights are now in the right dimensions!
Tadam! You now know how to determine the right size for your pendants or chandeliers. You can therefore purchase your luminaire with complete peace of mind, being sure to make the right choice.
And guess what? I have a few nuggets for you. Chandeliers of all shapes and sizes! All you have to do is make your choice based on your decorating style. It’s this way 😉 .
