Pendant Light Height Calculator

The short answer

Hang the bottom of a pendant 26 in to 36 in above a dining table and 30 in to 36 in above a kitchen island or counter, low enough to light the surface and high enough to see across it. Where people walk under a fixture, keep its bottom at least 7 ft from the floor; the ADA’s clearance for a path is 80 in. Those are the three makers’ figures (Kohler, Kichler and Artika), and they don’t quite agree, so the calculator shows the whole range and starts in the middle of it.

The rest is subtraction. Over a 30 in table under an 8 ft ceiling, 30 in above the table puts the bottom 60 in above the floor, which leaves a 36 in drop: a 10 in fixture hangs from 26 in of cord or chain. A plug-in swag pendant needs that cord plus the run across the ceiling and down to the outlet.

How to use the calculator

1. Pick where it hangs: over a dining table, over an island or counter, or in an entry, hallway or open room where people walk under it.
2. Enter the ceiling height and the fixture’s own height, shade top to bottom, without its cord or chain.
3. Check the surface and the gap. The table (30 in) and counter (36 in) heights are NKBA’s standard ones; change them to yours. The gap above the surface starts inside the makers’ range and can move either way.
4. For an island, say how many pendants, how long the island is and how wide the shades are.
5. For a plug-in pendant on a swag hook, tick the box and enter the hook’s distance from the wall and the outlet’s height.

The result gives the height of the fixture’s bottom above the floor, the drop from the ceiling, the cord or chain to its top, the spacing of island pendants against all three makers, and the swag cord to buy. Copy link keeps a room’s numbers; Print takes them to the store.

Heights by ceiling

At the calculator’s defaults, the bottom’s height and the drop that leaves under an 8, 9 or 10 ft ceiling:

What the makers say

Kichler’s own pages differ a little from each other: its pendant guide says 30 in to 36 in above a counter for a pendant and the bottom of a chandelier 30 in above a table, its dining room guide 26 in to 30 in above the table, and it adds 3 to 6 in for a wide table or a tall ceiling. Kohler’s figures are the tallest over a table and the tightest over an island. Artika measures spacing center to center where Kohler and Kichler measure between the shades.

How we calculate

1. The bottom of the fixture. The surface’s height plus the gap above it: the table or counter height (NKBA’s 30 in and 36 in to start) plus the gap you choose. Where people walk under it, the clearance you choose above the floor.
2. The range check. The gap is compared with the lowest and highest figure any of the three makers gives: 26 in to 36 in over a table, 30 in to 36 in over a counter. A walkway fixture is checked against the makers’ 84 in and the ADA’s 80 in minimum vertical clearance (2010 ADA Standards, 307.4).
3. The drop and the cord. The ceiling less the bottom is the drop; the drop less the fixture’s own height is the cord, chain or stem from the ceiling to the fixture’s top. When the fixture is taller than the drop, the result says by how much.
4. Pendants over an island. The pendants are spread evenly with 6 in from each end (Kichler’s minimum, the low end of Artika’s 6 in to 12 in). Their centers are compared with Artika’s 24 in to 30 in, and the gap between the shades with Kohler’s 30 in and Kichler’s 12 in to 24 in. The most pendants the island takes is counted at Kichler’s smallest gap.
5. The swag cord. From the fixture’s top up to the hook (the cord above), across the ceiling to the wall, and down to the outlet (the ceiling height less the outlet’s), plus 12 in of slack for the plug and the loop at the hook. The slack is our own allowance, not a maker’s figure.

Sizing a fixture is a separate question the makers also answer: Kohler and Kichler add the room’s length and width in feet to get a chandelier’s minimum diameter in inches, Kohler puts its length at 2 to 2.5 in for each foot of ceiling height, and Artika’s island pendants run 12 in to 18 in across, its dining pendants 15 in to 24 in.

The table under the pendant is its own question: the dining table size calculator finds the size your room takes with room for the chairs, and the pendant centers over it.

Worked examples

Example: A pendant over a dining table under an 8 ft ceiling

What we know

• Ceiling: 8 ft
• Over a 30 in high table, bottom 30 in above it
• Fixture: 10 in tall

How it works out

1. 30 in above the table (30 in high) puts the bottom 60 in above the floor, inside the 26 in to 36 in makers suggest.
2. The 8 ft ceiling leaves a 36 in drop. Less the 10 in fixture, the cord, chain or stem from the ceiling to its top is 26 in.

Hang the bottom 60 in above the floor.

Example: Three pendants over a 6 ft island under a 9 ft ceiling

What we know

• Ceiling: 9 ft
• Over a 36 in high counter, bottom 32 in above it; 3 over a 6 ft island, 12 in across
• Fixture: 10 in tall

How it works out

1. 32 in above the counter (36 in high) puts the bottom 68 in above the floor, inside the 30 in to 36 in makers suggest.
2. The 9 ft ceiling leaves a 40 in drop. Less the 10 in fixture, the cord, chain or stem from the ceiling to its top is 30 in.
3. 3 pendants spread evenly, 6 in from each end, sit 24 in apart center to center with 12 in between the shades: inside Artika's 24 in to 30 in center to center, under Kohler's 30 in between shades and inside Kichler's 12 in to 24 in between shades. At Kichler's 12 in between shades and 6 in from each end, a 6 ft island takes up to 3 pendants of 12 in.

Hang the bottom 68 in above the floor.

Example: A plug-in pendant on a swag hook in an entry with an 8 ft ceiling

What we know

• Ceiling: 8 ft
• Where people walk under it, bottom 84 in above the floor
• Fixture: 8 in tall
• Plug-in on a swag hook: 4 ft from the hook to the wall, outlet 16 in high

How it works out

1. That meets the makers' 84 in where people walk under a fixture and the ADA's 80 in minimum vertical clearance; under a taller ceiling, makers go to about 96 in.
2. The 8 ft ceiling leaves a 12 in drop. Less the 8 in fixture, the cord, chain or stem from the ceiling to its top is 4 in.
3. For a plug-in pendant, the cord runs 4 in from the fixture up to the hook, 4 ft across the ceiling to the wall and 80 in down to the outlet (16 in high), plus 12 in of slack for the plug and the loop at the hook: a cord of at least 12 ft.

Hang the bottom 84 in above the floor.

Hanging a pendant in a rental

• Go plug-in. A swag pendant hangs from a ceiling hook and plugs into the wall, so the wiring stays as it was. The cord shows along the ceiling and down the wall; a cord cover or a route along a corner keeps it tidy.
• Ask before the hook goes in. The hook needs a hole and an anchor rated for the fixture’s weight. Get the OK in writing, as for any hole, and keep the patch kit for move-out.
• Pick the bulb for the job. The lumens calculator gives the light a dining table, a counter or a reading chair needs.
• Check the island first. The kitchen island calculator sizes the island or cart the pendants will hang over.
• Leave hardwired fixtures to the landlord. Replacing a ceiling fixture is electrical work; most leases reserve it, and some states require a licensed electrician. A swag pendant over the old fixture’s spot, or beside it, gets the look without the work.

Why this gets a Medium deposit risk

A plug-in pendant itself leaves with you, but the swag hook leaves a hole in the ceiling, and ceiling holes are harder to patch invisibly than wall holes. Fill it and touch up the paint at move-out, or use an adhesive hook rated for the weight if the fixture is light enough.