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| Marina Project, SMW Design, San Francisco |
Greetings,
Thought we'd start out our Monday with a little math problem. If an antique brass chandelier leaves Chicago going 85 miles an hour - and a dining table leave Miami on the fourth Tuesday after New Year's Day - How high do you hang the chandelier over the dining table?
Well, actually, someone emailed me the other day with that very question. Well - not *THAT* very question - but a more general one requesting advice about the proper height to hang a light fixture over your dining table.
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| Antique Chandeliers. |
And, yes, there can be a simple math equation to solve this particular dilemma. Here's how I do it :
To start, hang your fixture 35 inches above the surface of your dining table -
or basically 65 inches from the floor.
BUT, in cases of larger rooms, add two inches to that
height for every foot over 9 feet of ceiling height.
I can almost hear all of you saying "What?!?!?!?"
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| Modern Chandeliers. |
The 35 inches over the dining surface (usually a 30 inch height) gives you a great place to begin . . . but adding a bit more based on your ceiling height gives the light fixture proper balance in the room.
So a dining room with an 11 foot ceiling - you would hang at 69 inches from the floor.
(the basic 65 inches, plus 4 inches (two for each foot of ceiling height over 9 feet))
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| Candle Chandeliers. |
And clearly, this works for candle-lit fixtures as well as electric ones.
But remember - always trust your eye.
Use the equation to start, but always be willing a add or subtract a bit
based on how the fixture actually looks and feels in the space.
Happy measuring,
Scot
(all images from SMW Design - photography by Nicolas Smith and Eric Tagan Hooten)
