Choosing the Right Size Pendant

How High Should a Pendant Hang Over a Dining Table?

Hang the bottom of the shade 75 to 90cm above the table top, and choose a pendant about half to two thirds as wide as the table.

Width. Choose a pendant, or a group of pendants, about half to two thirds the width of your table. For a table 90cm wide, that means a shade of roughly 45 to 60cm.

Length. On a long table, one shade rarely reaches both ends. Use a linear bar pendant, or hang two or three matching pendants in a row, leaving about 60cm between shades and at least 15cm from each end of the table.

Height. Hang the bottom of the shade about 75 to 90cm above the table top. That is low enough to feel close and light the table well, and high enough for people to see each other across it.

1. 75 to 90cm
2. Shade: ½ to ⅔ of the table width
3. Table width

1. 75 to 90cm
2. Shade: ½ to ⅔ of the table width
3. Table width

1. About 60cm
2. At least 15cm

1. About 60cm
2. At least 15cm

How Far Apart Should Pendants Be Over a Kitchen Island?

Keep about 60 to 75cm between pendants over an island, and hang them 75 to 90cm above the worktop. Most islands suit two or three smaller pendants in a row, spaced evenly along the length. Choose shades that send light downwards if you prepare food there - clear glass or open metal shades work well.

1. 60 to 75cm
2. 75 to 90cm above the worktop

1. 60 to 75cm
2. 75 to 90cm above the worktop

What Size Pendant Do I Need for My Room?

Add the room's length and width in metres, then multiply by eight: the answer is a good starting diameter in centimetres. This is for a living room, bedroom or any room where the pendant is the main light, with no table beneath it.

Find your room in the grid. Read across from the length and down from the width.

1. Length 5m
2. Width 4m
3. Pendant: about 70cm across
4. The room, seen from above

1. Length 5m
2. Width 4m
3. Pendant: about 70cm across
4. The room, seen from above

Treat this as a starting point. A light, open shade can go bigger; a solid, heavy one looks better a little smaller.

How Low Can a Pendant Hang?

Where people walk underneath, keep at least 2.1m between the floor and the bottom of the pendant. Over a table or an island nobody walks under, so it can hang lower. On a standard 2.4m ceiling that leaves about 30cm for the whole fitting, so a flush or semi-flush light is often the better choice in lower rooms.

1. 2.1m clear headroom
2. About 30cm for the fitting
3. 2.4m ceiling

1. 2.1m clear headroom
2. About 30cm for the fitting
3. 2.4m ceiling

What Pendant Suits a Hallway or Stairwell?

In a tall hallway or a stairwell, choose a long-drop pendant, a cluster or a tiered piece that fills the height. Hallways are walkways, so the 2.1m headroom rule comes first, and the light is the first thing people see. Hang it so it is visible from the front door and from the landing, and check that it clears the stairs as well as the hall floor.

What Drop Do I Need?

Take the height you want the bottom of the light to sit at away from your ceiling height: the answer is the drop you need. Every pendant on our site lists its minimum and maximum drop - the distance from the ceiling to the bottom of the light. Make sure your answer falls within that range.

Example: your ceiling is 2.6m and you want the shade 80cm above a 75cm-high table, so the bottom should sit at 1.55m. You need a drop of 2.6m - 1.55m = 1.05m.

1. Ceiling height 2.6m
2. The drop you need: 1.05m
3. 80cm
4. Table 75cm

1. Ceiling height 2.6m
2. The drop you need: 1.05m
3. 80cm
4. Table 75cm

Still Not Sure?

Call our lighting team on 0113 2818 343, Monday to Friday 9 to 5.30 and Saturday 9.30 to 5. Tell us your room size, ceiling height and table size, and we will suggest pendants that fit.