How Far Down Should Your Modern Chandelier Hang?

These days, in the realm of the modern chandelier, it is no longer a lighting fixture that is suspended directly from the ceiling. The chandelier is more commonly hung at an attractive height for the room, throwing its illumination wherever needed. But how far down should your fixture hang? How low is too low?

Dining Room

• The bottom of a modern chandelier should sit at about 30 to 34 inches from the top of the dining table in a room that has a ceiling of 8 feet high. If your dining room is taller, hang the chandelier 3 inches higher than this for every extra foot of ceiling height (so it doesn’t look too low).

Foyers

• The bottom of a modern chandelier should sit at least 7 feet from the floor in foyers, and even rooms, where people will need to walk underneath them. If you have a two-storey foyer, hang the chandelier about one-third of the way between ceiling and floor.

Kitchens, Bedrooms and Living Rooms

• The bottom of a modern chandelier should sit no less than 30 inches above a table or other surface, as this leaves you ample room to place items on the surface. Hang chandeliers higher in rooms with overly high ceilings.

At the end of the day, you should use your own discretion when it comes to hanging a modern chandelier in your home – if you feel it is hanging too high or too low and then adjust it until you are happy. The rule of thumb, however, is that chandeliers should sit no lower than 30 inches above a table and no lowers than 7 feet when people need to walk underneath it.

Choosing A Modern Chandelier For A Bedroom

Many people would love to hang a modern chandelier in their bedroom to create a sophisticated and elegant feel in the room, but aren’t sure whether this type of fixture is the best option for task lighting. Chandeliers actually work great as tasking lighting, especially if they are hung beside a bed (as a bedside lamp) or over the dressing area. But how do you choose one for your particular bedroom?

Look at your bedroom and try to determine what the style or the theme of the space is. There is generally a modern chandelier to suit every décor, but you wouldn’t use a streamlined metallic one if your room had beach or Parisian influences, would you? It is all about choosing a chandelier to match the modern décor used in the rest of your bedroom.

You should also look at the various materials used in your bedroom and try to choose a chandelier that uses similar elements. Do you have brushed nickel pieces in your room, or is wrought iron more the style you have gone for? If you have a lot of decorative elements (such as a beaded doorway) you could even choose a modern chandelier that is hung with similar beads.

Next, you will need to determine how much lighting your bedroom actually needs. If you plan to use your chandelier as the main source of light, it will need to be of a larger size with open bulbs. If you plan to use your modern chandelier for ambience or to highlight a feature of the room, a shaded fixture will be suitable.

Finally, when it comes to hanging your modern chandelier, you will need to ensure that there is plenty of space to walk underneath it and that it effectively lights up the space that you need it to. Often, the lighting company that you’re buying from can help you determine chandelier height on a case-by-case basis.

Trends In Exterior Lighting

Gone are the days when the only feature in our backyard was that lawn setting or the birdbath we bought twenty years ago. Today, exterior lighting features hugely in turning our yards into oases of entertainment and play areas, helping to increase the amount of time that we can use our outdoor space.

Pathways

Also known as area lights, this form of exterior lighting is used to light walkways, as well as to highlight nearby flowerbeds and shrubs. It illuminates in a soft, circular pattern.

Deck

These forms of outdoor lighting are generally mounted to the outside wall of the home, or even on the railing around the deck or patio. Like path lights, they illuminate in a soft, horizontal direction and reduce the glare that other types are known to give off.

Spotlights

Also known as accent lights, this form of exterior lighting is commonly used to highlight trees, statues and other clever or creative architectural features. They use beams of illumination that can be directed wherever you please.

Step

These forms of outdoor lighting are generally found in masonry or wood constructions, and are used to add a sense of safety and security to people using their decks or steps at night.

Ultimately, the purpose of exterior lighting is to tie together the relationship between our homes and our surrounding landscape. This is why the emerging trends are focused on bringing the indoors outdoors, without neglecting that security is also important. If you want to increase the amount of time your family uses your outdoor spaces, check out some of the above illumination solutions.