How high to hang a pendant
A pendant's size is one decision. Its height is the one that keeps getting made wrong. Hang it too low and guests knock into it. Hang it too high and it stops doing the job it was bought for.
The number that matters
Hanging height is measured from the bottom of the pendant to the surface below, not from the ceiling. That surface is the thing the light is lighting: the table, the counter, the floor. Start from the surface and work up.
Over a kitchen island or counter
30 to 36 in (75 to 90 cm) between the bottom of the pendant and the countertop. Lower end for taller pendants with opaque shades. Higher end for smaller or bare-bulb fixtures where you want more spread.
If the island is long enough for two or three pendants, space them 24 to 30 in apart, and keep the same bottom height across all of them. A row of pendants at slightly different heights reads as an accident, not a choice.
Over a dining table
30 to 36 in (75 to 90 cm) from the table surface to the bottom of the shade. Same range as a kitchen island, because the job is the same: light the surface without blocking the faces of the people around it.
A dining pendant hung above that range lights more of the room than the table. A pendant hung below starts to intrude on the space where you set down a serving dish or reach for a bottle.
In an entryway or stairwell
7 ft (210 cm) of clearance from the bottom of the pendant to the floor. This keeps anyone from walking into it, including the tallest person in the room wearing a hat.
Stairwells want the same 7 ft clearance, measured from whichever step the pendant sits above. For a double-height stairwell, the pendant can sit closer to the upper floor, but never so far up that it becomes a ceiling decoration.
Raise by 3 inches for each foot of ceiling above 8 ft
Standard heights assume an 8 ft (2.4 m) ceiling. For taller ceilings, add roughly 3 in of hang height for every extra foot. A 10 ft ceiling means a pendant hung 6 in higher than the standard. A cathedral ceiling needs proportions of its own, which is usually where an electrician and a tape measure earn their keep.
A pendant worth considering
Our Ferragudo pendant has a broad flower-shaped glass shade that casts a soft, downward pool of light. It sits well in the 30 to 36 in range above a kitchen island or small dining table. Because the shade is wider than it is deep, the room reads unobstructed when you stand at the counter. Browse pendant and ceiling lights for more.
