How High to Hang a Pendant Light Over a Table, Bench or Floor

A pendant hung at the right height looks as if it was always meant to be there. Too high and it floats away from the table, lighting the ceiling and the tops of heads; too low and it blocks faces across the table or becomes something to walk into. There is no single correct number, but there are well-tested starting points.

All measurements below are taken to the bottom of the shade (or the lowest part of the fitting), not to the bulb or the ceiling rose.

The quick answer

Where	Starting height	Measured from
Dining table	75–85 cm	Tabletop
Kitchen bench or island	75–90 cm	Benchtop
Open floor, hallway, entry	At least 2.1 m clear	Floor
Bedside (in place of a lamp)	About 50–70 cm	Bedside table
Stairwell	At least 2.1 m clear	The stair tread below it

These are the ranges most lighting designers start from. Your own room may move them by 10 cm either way, as the sections below explain.

Over a dining table

Start at about 75–85 cm above the tabletop. At that height the light falls on the table, the shade sits just above eye level for people sitting down, and you can still see the person opposite.

Adjust from there:

• Tall household, or a large shade: go towards the top of the range. A wide shade blocks more of the view, so it usually wants to sit higher.
• Small or very open shade, such as a bare filament bulb or a glass globe: it can come lower, because you see through and around it. Watch for glare from an exposed bulb, though.
• High ceilings: keep the fitting over the table at roughly the same height and let the cord take up the extra length. Raising the pendant to "fill" a tall ceiling is the most common mistake; the table is what it lights.

A simple test before the electrician fixes the cord: have someone hold the pendant (or a cardboard cut-out of the same size) while everyone sits down. If anyone has to lean to see across the table, go higher.

How wide should a pendant be over a dining table?

A common rule of thumb is a shade between half and two-thirds of the table's width. For a 90 cm wide table, that is a shade of about 45–60 cm. Leave at least 15 cm between the edge of the shade and the edge of the table so no one hits it when standing up.

Long tables usually look better with two or three smaller pendants, or a linear fitting, than with one large shade in the middle.

Over a kitchen bench or island

Start at about 75–90 cm above the benchtop. Benches are higher than tables and people are usually standing, so the shade can sit a little higher than over a dining table without lighting faces instead of the work surface.

• Two or three pendants are the usual choice for an island. Odd numbers are not compulsory: two pendants often suit a shorter bench better than three cramped ones.
• Spacing: centre the group on the bench, and keep roughly 60–75 cm between the centres of medium-sized pendants. Leave about 15 cm or more between the outer pendants and the ends of the bench.
• Task light: decorative pendants rarely give enough light for chopping on their own. Pair them with recessed downlights or under-cabinet strips, and put the pendants on a separate switch or dimmer.

In hallways, entries and open floor

Where people walk underneath a fitting, the priority is clearance. Keep the lowest point of the pendant at least 2.1 m above the floor, and more if anyone in the house is tall. In a double-height entry, hang the fitting so its bottom sits somewhere between the ground-floor ceiling height and the upper landing, so it reads from both levels.

Bedside pendants

Pendants beside the bed free up the bedside table and suit small rooms. Hang them so the shade sits roughly 50–70 cm above the bedside table, or about at shoulder height when you are sitting up in bed. Choose a shade that hides the bulb from your eyes when you are lying down, and put each light on its own switch within reach.

Grouping pendants

Clusters at different heights can look striking over a stair void or a corner. A few things keep them from looking accidental:

• Keep the drops in a deliberate pattern: a line, a gentle curve or a stepped group, not random lengths.
• Vary heights by at least 10–15 cm so the difference reads as intentional.
• Leave enough space between shades that they do not touch when someone opens a door or a window.

Before the wiring goes in

In Australia, installing or moving a fixed light fitting is electrical work and must be done by a licensed electrician. Decide the exact position of the ceiling rose before the electrician arrives: centre it on the table or bench, not on the room. If the table might move later, a fitting with a long cord and a ceiling hook (a swag) gives you some freedom.