A chandelier can be a great addition to many rooms, especially a dining room. But getting the size right for your chandelier is important to make sure the room doesn’t look
So can a chandelier be wider than a table and still look good? A chandelier can be wider than a table, but shouldn’t necessarily be. If the chandelier is to be centered over a table, its size relative to the table is important, but so is its size relative to the room. If the room is very large but the table is relatively small, a chandelier that’s wider than the table would look great.
There are several issues to consider before purchasing a chandelier to hang over a table. These include:
- Chandelier size in length and width
- Volume of light desired
- Chandelier style
- Room design
- Table shape and size
- Location of table
- Location of chandelier from ceiling to floor
Chandelier Size in Length and Width
In order to properly install a chandelier over a table, study the variety of shapes and styles. These features should coordinate with the overall design of formal or casual tables.
Note that chandeliers are used over a variety of table styles. Take a look at the size of the room. Try to keep the chandelier and table in proportion to room size.
Volume of Light Desired
Chandeliers provide light. For dining areas, adding a dimmer varies the volume of light from bright to a more romantic dimly lit room.
Decide on the overall light the chandelier will provide for the purpose for which it is to be used. Take note of the distance between each chandelier light source.
Chandelier Styles
Chandelier styles vary from ultra modern to traditional crystal prism styles. Each of these can be wider than the table over which they rest.
There are eclectic chandeliers that are rectangular in length and span the table’s width and large round chandeliers from 40 to 45 inches wide. The rectangular chandeliers are known as island lights.
In addition, there are several crystal chandeliers with individual prisms suspended from a central rectangular canopy about four feet in length and 30 inches in width.
For a more modern version, choose a chandelier with six or eight globes suspended from the island canopy above it.
Room Design
For a chandelier to be wider than a table, it is essential to coordinate the chandelier style with the room design. As an example, for a room that is approximately 12 ft. by 12 ft., note the distance from the table to the remainder of the room and proximity to the chandelier.
Chandeliers can be located over a table near windows to create a room design that offers optimal reflection indoors and out.
In some innovative room designs, a table may be located in a corner of the room or close to a wall. There are chandeliers that are wider than a table that can be located centrally over the table in a large, flowing sconce style.
Be mindful of room designs with curved walls, such as those in Victorian style homes. These room designs are perfect for a table placed inside the curve and a chandelier with width greater than the table.
Table Shape and Size
In most cases the shape and size of the table play an important role in how well a wider sized chandelier will look.
Tables for dining are usually round, oval, square or rectangular. Dining table size depends on the amount of seating required. Choose a chandelier sufficiently wider than the dining table to provide the desired amount of lighting comparable to the seating number.
If the table is not for dining but for room accent, a wider chandelier wider is ideal for accenting the shape of the table. For example, a kidney or “Figure Eight” shaped accent table coordinates well with a wider island chandelier with an imposing style.
Location of the Table
Dining tables tend to take prominence in a room. Accent tables are meant to fill spaces that otherwise would look bare. Even accent tables can take prominence in a room. The best example of this is an accent table in a large foyer. Locate a wider chandelier so it becomes part of the welcoming appeal.
Dining tables can be located so family and guests feel comfortable and not crowded. Take the amount of space between each seating into consideration. This will help approximate the location of the chandelier above it.
A dining table with seating for six or eight needs at least five feet of room from each wall for ease of seating. A wider chandelier over this table should give off sufficient light to cover the full area of the table’s location.
Location of Chandelier from Ceiling to Floor
Chandeliers may located in most any room. Over a table, however, measure the distance from ceiling to floor before installing a wider chandelier.
Allow for “head room” so that the wider chandelier is suspended high enough from the ceiling to avoid accidents.
The usual sizes of ceiling to floor measurements are eight foot and 15 foot.
In some foyers, the ceiling may be “cathedral length” of up to 20 feet in multi-level homes. Many stylish room decors include a chandelier that is wider than the table in the center of the foyer. In this location, a wider chandelier is the rule rather than the exception in order to provide visual balance.
If you know the size of the ceiling height, coordinate the ceiling height with the height of the table and the actual space between the chandelier and the table.
The Varieties of Chandeliers
It is always creative to choose wider chandeliers in free form styles. Some chandeliers may have round globes, candelabra, hurricane glass, brightly colored lighted accents and even metal, copper, chrome and titanium light arms and matching bobeche.
Chandelier Parts
All chandeliers have several similar parts. These include:
- Top canopy
- Body dish
- Candle cup
- Candle tube
- Bottom bowl
- Bottom ball
In a wider chandelier, these will be uniform in size even though the width from side to side is 30 inches or more. Depending on the specific chandelier, these can be installed by an electrician or, if you have the experience, DIY.
Wider Chandeliers Over Conference Room Tables
Businesses prefer chandeliers wider than a conference table to facilitate the need for adequate light. In conference rooms, most of these chandeliers are intentionally wider than the conference room table and in shapes that may include:
- Linear suspension
- Free form suspension
- Traditional prisms hung from a bronze or chrome canopy
These wider chandeliers are heavily dependent on the overall conference room design and business decor.
The Search is On for the Perfect Chandelier
There are many places to look for ideas for how to use a wider chandelier over a table. Often, elegant, rustic, contemporary and traditional chandeliers go unnoticed in public places like theaters, hotels and historic homes.
Another source to find the perfect pairing of a table with a wider chandelier is an interior decorator or interior designer. These can be found locally or online.
Perfect Pairings
Take the time to study how chandeliers turn lackluster room decor into a spectacular visual experience. Most of these can be found online.
For example, in one rustic hotel in Glacier Montana, the large central chandelier in the reception area has a long rectangular table. The chandelier over this table is created from elk horns that are wider than the table. It gives a visual appearance of a cross bar over the table.
Details to Remember
To recap the most important points in a search for a chandelier wider than a table, several issues prevail:
- Size
- Measurements
- Style
- Room Decor
- Location
- Visual balance
- Coordination
Chandeliers Set the Mood of a Room
The chandelier you choose should suit the mood of the room in which it is located. Consider the textures of table materials which can be metal, wood or glass.
Wood tends to create a heavy look where glass and metal might not. It’s easy to visualize how a wide rustic chandelier with wood accents would coordinate well with a wood table.
Similarly, choose a chandelier with several wide glass globes that span the table width for a glass table to create the illusion of an airy room.
Don’t Forget a Wide Chandelier and Table for Artwork
To enhance an art collection, place an accent table beneath a work of art and a wider chandelier over the table. This also works well with sculptures and objet d’art found in well coordinated interior design.
Personal Taste and Your Style Statement
Without doubt, the basic idea of designing room decor with a chandelier wider than a table depends as much on personal taste as it does on making a style statement to all who enter a room.
Know your table specifications and your personal taste in chandeliers and you might arrive at choices that are unique and innovative.
A simple, opaque glass globe of three feet in diameter hung from a single gold chain over a narrow, rectangular table will be the first room accent noticed.
More Ideas for Wide Chandeliers and Tables
Wide chandeliers accented with filigree, copper leaves drifting from a top canopy amid tiny lights or a verdigris chandelier with multi-color lights that seem to twinkle, add style to any room when placed over a table. For example, a single three foot high, 24″ diameter log can be turned into a table. Accent this unusual table with a chandelier made from a dried tree limb wired with lights.
Customize a Chandelier
The table and chandelier styles can be customized. If you have a good eye for unusual accents found at antique shops and garage sales, take them to a local electrical supply store, along with the measurements of the table and desired size of the chandelier to have the table and chandelier fabricated. Then, enjoy your creative work of art.