Take ceiling height into account

While having a 36 inch gap between a table top and the base of a ceiling light is often cited as a good distance for a light to hang above a dining table, if you have a large room with high ceilings you may want to consider hanging the ceiling light higher.

“Generally, the taller the ceiling the more clearance you want so the hanging fixture balances with the scale of the space,” says Noelle Parks, interior designer and founder of Noelle Interiors.

“For a room with 8ft to 10ft high ceilings, I recommend 36 inches – 42 inches of clearance from the bottom of the light fixture to the top of the table. This puts the fixture between 5ft 6 inches to 6ft above the floor – about eye level when standing up,” adds Noelle Parks.