How to Choose the Right Kind of Light Fixture for Your Room
The front living room in our home in Richmond, VA
After posting my Save or Splurge: Lighting Edition post last week, I got a great question over on Instagram about how to know what kind of overhead light fixture to use in a room. What are the rules around whether you should use a flush mount vs. pendant vs. chandelier? I thought I’d put together a little cheat sheet for different spaces with options for what you can do.
Of course there are always exceptions to the “rules,” but think about these as general guidelines that can help as you select your lighting for different spaces in your home!
You’ll want to start with measuring your ceiling height. That’s going to be the big determining factor for overhead lighting! You always want to have a minimum of 7’ of clearance under a light - that makes it comfortable to walk under and not feel like you’re going to bump into it. Your tall friends will thank you too! The rules change if you’re hanging a fixture in places like over a dining table or an island - clearance isn’t an issue there! These guidelines here apply to places where you walk under the fixture on a regular basis.
General rules of thumb for choosing the right type of overhead light fixture by ceiling height:
Ceiling height: 8’ or lower
For general overhead lighting, you’ll want to use flush mount or semi-flush mount light fixtures. Sorry, pendants and chandeliers are usually out here unless you’re hanging a fixture over a dining table, kitchen island, or maybe over a bed.
Ceiling height: 8-10’
You’ve got more flexibility and options once you ceilings are taller. In the 8-10’ range, you’ll may still opt for a flush mount or semi-flush mount for general overhead lighting, but you can probably get away with hanging a pendant or chandelier if the room calls for it - you may just need to hang it close to the ceiling.
Ceiling height: 10’-12’ (or higher!)
If you have ceilings that start to feel like they’re soaring, it’s probably time to say goodbye to flush mounts and semi-flush mounts in most spaces. When you have extra tall ceilings, you need to start thinking about light fixtures that will fill the space and won’t get lost in the loftiness. Pendants and chandeliers will be your friends!
via McGee & Co.*
Next, consider light fixture size.
You’ll want your fixture to be proportionate to the dimensions of the room. In general, smaller room = smaller light fixture, larger room = larger light fixture. Now, that being said, I always like to err on the side of larger, rather than smaller. It’s usually better to make a statement with your light fixture and be a little oversized than to have a dinky fixture that feels puny in the room.
Finally, consider functionality.
There are a couple of aspects to this including how much light you need it to put out and and light direction.
Ideally you’re layering your lighting in a space (meaning you’ve got table and/or floor lamps too), so hopefully the overhead light doesn’t need to be the only source of light, but you do want to make sure it’s adequately lighting up the space. Look at factors like number of bulbs and max wattage to be sure you’ve got enough brightness.
Light direction makes a big difference too. Uplight (light bulbs that point up) tend to distribute good light across a room, while downlight tends to be more focused on a smaller area below it.
Along those lines, also think about the kinds of shade or casing the light has (or doesn’t have!). If they’re translucent, you’ll get more diffused, soft light. If it has an opaque shade or much of a light is made out of a solid metal, it will put out less light. There’s nothing good or bad about any of these options - they’re just different! Know your room, know how you need your light to function, and go from there on selecting the perfect one!
Looking for options for overhead lighting? Here are some other posts to get you started in your search!
*Notes: Affiliate links may have been used in this post, which means Mix & Match Design Company earns a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you. The example images here are showing my best guesses for what the ceiling height is for these spaces! They’re for demonstration purposes only. I hope they help you figure out the right kind of fixture for your spaces!