Bling for your Dining Room

"Go Big or Go home" is what one of my favorite decorator friends says when talks about chandeliers and lanterns.  The rule, however, is generally that a chandelier should be 1/2 the width of your dining table and should hang about 30" from the table top.   I am not really one for rules, but if you are, there are some guidelines that I found with respect to chandeliers from the decoratingstudio.com which follow the pictures below.

These days I can't decide what my favorite type of Chandelier is:  Crystal, Shell or Lantern...Check out the pictures below.

Here are a some fabulous fixtures from Crystorama (the pictures are way better at their site, which is worth a look):

Here are some other luscious favorites from Arteriors:

And some more shell favorites:

And how about some great chinoiserie lanterns, including some vintage goodies:

As promised, here are the guidelines about chandelier and fixture size and placement I mentioned earlier:

Visual Weight of the Chandelier for a Dining Room

• Before following the guidelines below, keep in mind that the style and heaviness of the light fixture will affect what size you need to go with. A visually heavy chandelier can go more towards a smaller diameter. A visually light chandelier can be a little wider in diameter.

ChandelierSize Over the Dining Room Table

• One universally correct formula for determining the correct size light fixture for the Dining Room is to go with a fixture that has a diameter that is half the diameter (or width) of the tabletop. For instance, if the Dining Room table is a rectangle of 48” wide x 72” long, a chandelier that is approximately 24” (half of the 48” width of the table) in diameter would look fabulous. If the table is a 60” round diameter, a 30” diameter chandelier would be appropriate.
• If you want to hang two chandeliers over an exceptionally long dinging room table (for example a table that is approximately 54” wide x 120” long), then if you select chandeliers that are 1/3 the width of the table and hang them centered on each end of the table that would be correct. Therefore each chandelier would be approximately 18” in diameter.
• The height of the actual chandelier should be determined on the ceiling height of the room. Many Designers follow the rule of allowing 2 ½” – 3” for each foot of a rooms height. Using this calculation, a room that has an 8’ ceiling can use a chandelier that is approximately 20” to 24” in height. If the ceiling is 10 feet high, than a light fixture that is 25” to 30” would look more appropriate.
• The chandelier should be hung centered over the table (unless you are installing more than 1 fixture over the table) and the bottom of the light fixture should be about 30” above the table top.
• Dining Room chandeliers should always have a dimmer switch so that you can use the Dining Room for a multiple of activities from romantic dinners to a study area for the kids.

Chandelier Size for a Foyer or Entry Hall

• When you don’t have a table to help you determine the width of the chandelier you need for a room, you base the size on the overall room dimensions. One easy favorite that rarely fails is to add the width and length of the room together in feet and convert that figure to inches to come up with the correct width of the chandelier.
• For example, if an Entry Hall is only 8’ x 6’, you would add 8 + 6 together which equals 14, but instead of 14 feet, it would indicate that a 14” diameter chandelier would work best.
• If a room is larger, say 10’ x 18’, you would figure the diameter of the chandelier by the following formula:     10 + 18 = 28 (Therefore, a 28” diameter chandelier would fit the room proportionately.)  It makes sense that the higher the ceiling the taller the chandelier should be so that it will look balanced in the room. Many Designers follow the rule of allowing 2 ½” – 3” for each foot of a rooms height. Using this calculation, a room that has an 8’ ceiling can use a chandelier that is approximately 20” to 24” in height. If the ceiling is 10 feet high, than a light fixture that is 25” to 30” would look more appropriate.
• The chandelier in a Foyer or Entry Hall should be hung centered in the room with the bottom of the fixture no lower than 7' from the floor. 7' is the absolute minimum to allow for head clearance. If you have a tall ceiling you should follow a rule of thumb of at least 7' 6" from the floor to the bottom of the light fixture.