How High To Hang Chandelier In Living Room

A nice and big chandelier on a high ceiling like 20 feet high can completely change the look of that area. But first, it is important to determine what's the correct height at which the chandelier must hang. Depending upon the size and shape,

For 20 foot ceiling, the chandelier should hang a minimum of 13 to 16 feet high from the floor and 80 – 200 inches from the ceiling.

However, based on the length of light fixture greater than 70 inches, it may require to hang a little lower then recommended.

Traditional chandeliers with chains have fixed lengths while chandeliers that are installed without hooks and chains can be extended by length. Such chandeliers come with adjustable cords which can increase the total length of light fixtures upto 50 inches.

Below is a useful table that shows recommended height at which the chandelier should hang from 20 foot ceiling based on the length of the light fixture itself.

chandelier length Placement from 20′ ceiling Height from floor
43 inches 3.5 – 4 feet from ceiling 16.5 – 16 feet
47 inches 4 feet from ceiling 16 feet
59 – 60 inches 5 feet from ceiling 15 feet
70 inches 5.8 feet from ceiling 15.2 feet
79 inch 6 feet 14 feet
87 inch 6.5 feet 14.5 feet
100 inch 7 feet 13 feet
120 inch 7.5 feet 13.5 feet
137 inch 8 feet 12 feet

Chandelier placement height for foyer with 20-foot ceiling.

These chandeliers are usually custom made with very large length of the hanging rods as well as a very wide size of the chandelier itself. If one chooses to hang a standard size light fixture to hang over the foyer from a 20-foot ceiling then it must hang a minimum of 8 feet high from the floor.

The reason for this much height is the chandelier has to complement the table below it which is possible only if the chandelier is sufficiently side ( minimum of 20 inches wide) as well as hanged at correct height.

This means chandeliers require extra chains and wirings to be able to hang this low.

A much easier approach is to prefer hanging chandeliers around or over the staircase because around staircases, the height at which one perceives a chandelier is greatly reduced. Even if a chandelier hanging only 2 to 3 feet below the ceiling. It will not look too small in contrast to the large 20-foot ceiling.

Chandelier placement height from 20 feet ceiling near the stairwell

A chandelier can be hanged both over the staircase as well as the empty space around the side of the staircase. Wherever there is enough space to accommodate a light fixture, a standard size 47 inches long chandelier should be hanged 16 feet above the floor.

Depending on the length of light fixture greater than 50 inches, chandeliers must hang anywhere between 13 feet to 16 feet from the floor which means 4 to 7 inches down from a 20-foot ceiling.

Now you know the height at which the chandelier should hang. Let's see different types of staircase and how light fixture can be placed around them.

There are generally two types of staircase arrangements i.e the continuous helix type stairwell and the fragmented stairwell. As in the image below.

The other type of stairwell i.e the fragmented type may or may not have empty area around them. For example, see the images below.

Stairwell is the area where long chandeliers look elegant. They compliment the length of the stairwell and are a great option to fill the empty area around the stairwell.

These chandeliers are mostly contemporary. If they are flush mount then, they will come with cords of extendable length. While choosing the chandelier make sure the minimum length of chandelier must be 47 inches and above up to 85 inches. Generally speaking the longer the better.

How far apart chandelier must be from stairs of stairwell

To prevent accidental touches and unwanted swings, chandeliers need to maintain a distance of at least 2.5 – 3 feet from the stairs.

Does chandelier hanging on high ceiling need to be centered?

IN FOYER

In foyer, the chandelier not necessarily needs to be centered. Whether the chandelier on high ceiling needs to be centered or not depends over the arrangement of furniture below. The general recommendation is to keep the chandelier above the furniture.

If the furniture is centered in the room then the chandelier also should be centered and if furniture arrangement is not centered, the chandelier may also need not to be centered.

IN STAIRWELL

In stairwells, the area is rather limited hence instead of centering the chandelier one should try to place the chandelier such that the empty gets covered evenly such that if someone sees it, it does not look too far from one side and too close from another side.

How wide should the chandelier be for 20 foot ceiling?

The width of chandelier depends on the length and width of the room.

A general rule of thumb is to measure the values of length and width of the room and directly add the values. The result will be the width of chandelier in inches. This means if a foyer is 10 feet long and 10 feet wide the width of the chandelier should be 10 + 10 = 20 inches

But,

in the case of 20 feet ceiling, designers add extra 2 inches to compliment the large height.

Foyer size Light fixture width
8 feet× 10 feet 20 inches
8 feet × 16 feet 26 inches
10 feet × 10 feet 24 inches – 27 inches
10 feet × 16 feet and above 28 inches – 30 inches

If chandelier is intended to be installed near a stairwell from 20-foot ceiling then the width of the chandelier should be a minimum of 20 inches.

For lower height ceiling like 12 feet or less this width may decrease.

How high to place chandelier in a 20-foot vaulted ceiling.

For 20 foot vaulted ceilings it is good to hang chandeliers 6 to 7 feet below the ceiling. Vaulted ceiling offers many benefits like if the chandelier is of limited length and it cannot be extended still desired height of chandelier can be achieved by inserting supports in the adjacent conical sides of the ceiling.

The height at which a chandelier is to be placed on a vaulted ceiling also depends on how far down the slopes of ceiling goes. If the slope goes more than 8 feet down then it is a good practice to hang the chandeliers at the same length where the slope ends.

This will provide a more uniform look to both light fixture as well as the sloped ceiling.

How High To Hang Chandelier In Living Room

Source: https://briightens.com/chandelier-placement-height-from-a-20-foot-ceiling/