I’ve combed through hundreds of dining room chandeliers on a search to find the perfect one for our home and am sharing my ten favorites!
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When we bought our home, it was in the contract that the previous owners were going to take the chandelier with them. Knowing how chaotic our lives would be after moving in, I picked up a chandelier on the cheap at our local Ballard Designs Outlet before our move so I’d have something to put up right when we moved in:
I figured I would just have it for a few months or so and then sell it after having the time to shop and find the perfect one. Little did I know that it would end up being over five years before I finally got around to swapping it out!
While I liked our rope chandelier, as soon as the doors between our dining room and kitchen were removed as part of kitchen remodel, allowing you to see from one room into the other, I knew that I needed a fixture that would coordinate better with our kitchen island pendants to create better flow between the two spaces:
Sources: Lantern pendants | Rattan counter stools in Fog | Pulls on island drawers (12″) | Pot Filler (Kohler Artifacts in vibrant stainless) | Cabinet pulls | Glass storage jars
That’s when my search for a new dining room chandelier began!
What Size Dining Room Chandelier Is Best?
When you’re searching for a dining room chandelier, the first thing you need to figure out is what size chandelier is best for your table. Here are a few tips:
- The width of your chandelier should be about ½ to ⅔ the width of the table it will be hanging over. I tend to choose fixtures closer to ⅔ the width except for really narrow tables.
- Getting a fixture that’s at least 10-12″ less than the width of your table is important so that you don’t bump it with your head when getting in or out of your seat. An exception to this rule is if you have tall ceilings and the chandelier will be hung high overhead (where no heads could run into it) as ambient lighting.
And what about height? In general, the bottom of the chandelier should hang between 30″ – 36″ above the surface of the table when there is an 8′ ceiling. For higher ceilings, you can hang the chandelier up to 3″ higher for each additional foot of ceiling. See my post on dining room measurements for tips on sizing your dining room chairs and rug too!
The very first chandelier that I crushed on when I started my dining room chandelier hunt was actually this gilded iron beauty found {here} and {here}. It’s stunning and I LOVE the design but the 35.5″ width of it was sadly too much for my space. But if you have a round dining table, it’s a fabulous option!
After searching more, these are the other dining room chandeliers I found that I loved and thought could work in my space:
Sources: 1. Brass linear chandelier (also check out {this similar option}) | 2. Cream beaded pendant | 3. Wagon wheel chandelier (3 finish options) | 4. Wood beaded & rope pendant | 5. Candle style chandelier | 6. Tapered glass shade chandelier | 7. Swoop arm chandelier | 8. 6-Light chandelier with fabric shades (3 finish options) | 9. Drum chandelier | 10. Glass droplet chandelier
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One of my favorites of this bunch is this round drop crystal chandelier found {here}:
I bet is sparkles beautifully at night! I love mixing metal finishes and think that the antique nickel finish of this chandelier would pair beautifully with the gilded iron of my kitchen pendants.
If you love the look of that chandelier, also check out this round crystal chandelier found {here} that comes in two sizes – the large is 26″ which is a good size for most dining room tables:
I also love the softness of a drum shade chandelier! Along with the one I linked earlier in the post, I love this beauty found {here}:
Decisions, decisions… which chandelier do you think I went with? Which is your favorite?
Update! I decided that a wood bead chandelier would be perfect since the natural wood tones would allow it to blend with any metal finishes, including the golds in our kitchen. I chose {this beautiful beaded chandelier} and it was even more gorgeous than I expected!
It just fits right in with everything else I have in this space doesn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by everyone! Hope you’re all having a great week!
