How to Pick a Dining Room Chandelier

A chandelier has a big impact on your dining room space. It can set the whole mood and complete a room's design for a beautiful and comfortable setting. It can be daunting, though, looking through catalogs or lighting showrooms and trying to choose from so many styles. Use the eight guidelines below to help you weed through the options and pick a perfect dining room chandelier.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring Tape
• Fabric and color samples

1. Measure the width of your table. The chandelier you choose should never be wider than your table. A good guideline to follow is that the width of the chandelier should be 12 inches narrower than the width of a dining table.

2. Measure the dimensions of the room. You want a chandelier to create a perfect balance in a dining room. The fixture shouldn't be so small it gets lost, and it shouldn't be so large it overpowers the table and creates harsh lighting. The ends of the fixture should be at least 4 feet away from any wall. See Tips Section and Warnings Section.

3. Measure the distance from the table surface to the ceiling. Most chandeliers should hang about 30-34 inches above the top of a dining table, if you have 8 foot ceilings. Make sure your chandelier is not so tall that it can't be hung high enough. You never want the chandelier to be in people's view when they're sitting at the table.

4. Consider the existing finishes in your room. Make sure your chandelier is the same, or in a complementary shade to any existing metals in the room. You don't want to have all silver picture frames and then a gold fixture. Brushed bronze, gold, and black are more muted tones that can work well in rooms where you don't have a uniformity of finishes.

5. Consider the colors of your room. If you have a lot of rich, warm wood and earth tones, go for gold or bronze finishes. Cool tones like blues and whites, or modern black furniture might look better with silver or black finishes. When possible, bring any samples of fabrics and colors to the store with you to compare to the chandelier finishes.

6. Match the style of the room. If the room is very formal and elegant, you need an impressive fixture to complete the look. If you have antique or ornate furniture, choose more complicated chandelier designs that have scrolling designs or hanging pendants.

7. Consider the illumination factor. In a small space, a chandelier with a lot of bulbs or direct lighting can be too overpowering. Many lighting stores display their chandeliers in use, so make sure you evaluate how bright or dim a chandelier is. If it's your only light source, you do want it to be powerful enough for people to see their food by. See Tips Section.

8. Buy something you love. A chandelier is an investment, and it's a fixture you will probably have for a long time to come. Feel free to bend the rules and choose a piece that's a little grander or more eclectic than the space may warrant. If it looks good to you and your family, and you enjoy the purchase, that's what's important.

Tips & Warnings

• If your dining space is small, say a dinette area off the kitchen in a town home, you might choose a pendant chandelier. This smaller fixture can still be an elegant piece, but on a smaller scale so it fits in with the space.
• Pay attention to the fixture types when you go to the store or online. Many of the grand chandeliers that look appealing are actually meant for halls or entryways, and will be much too large for your space. Two light pendants are intended for over kitchen counters or bars.
• A dimmer switch for a chandelier is always a good idea. This way you can always adjust the light levels and set the right mood.
• Never buy a fixture that hugs the ceiling for a dining room. Even in a small space, you should always have some sort of hanging fixture to add the right amount of formality to your dining room, and be of the proper scale.

Resources

• Browse lamps by style, finish, and size at Lamps Plus!
• Browse thousands of choices at Bellacor Lighting!