Too high and a pendant floats, lighting nothing in particular. Too low and people duck. The right height is narrower than most people expect, and it changes depending on what is underneath.
All measurements below are from the surface or floor to the bottom of the shade, not to the ceiling fixing.
Over a dining table
75–90 cm above the tabletop.
This is the one most people get wrong, usually by hanging too high. At 75 cm the fitting feels deliberate and the light pools on the table. Much above 90 cm and it stops belonging to the table at all.
Within that range, let the shade decide. An open shade with an exposed bulb wants the upper end, or diners look straight into it from across the table. A diffused or translucent shade can come lower without glare. A marble fitting like Solvi, which glows rather than beams, sits happily at 75 cm.
Over a kitchen island
70–85 cm above the worktop.
Slightly lower than a dining table, for a practical reason: you are standing rather than sitting, and you need light on the surface in front of you without your own head blocking it.
Check the sightline before you commit. Stand where you would normally work, and look across the island. If the fitting cuts across the eyeline of someone sitting on a stool opposite, raise it 5 cm.
Beside a bed
Bottom of the shade roughly 50–60 cm above the mattress.
Which usually puts it at about 1.2–1.3 m from the floor. The test is simple: sitting up in bed with a book, the light should fall on the page without the bulb being in your field of view.
If the bedside table is wide, hang the pendant over its outer edge rather than its centre. It leaves the surface usable and puts the light closer to the reader. A bedside lamp achieves the same thing without wiring, if the room is rented or the layout might change.
In a hallway, landing or anywhere people walk
At least 2.1 m from the floor. Non-negotiable.
That is the standard clearance, and in a house with tall visitors it is worth adding a little. In a narrow hallway with a 2.4 m ceiling you have barely 30 cm to play with, which in practice means a short pendant or a flush fitting instead. There is more on that choice in everything that matters when buying a ceiling light.
In a stairwell or double-height space
Here the rule is about sightlines rather than a fixed figure. Hang the fitting so its bottom sits level with, or just above, the first floor ceiling line, so it reads as one object seen from both levels rather than two halves.
The practical constraint is the stairs themselves: measure from the highest step the fitting hangs over, not from the floor below, and keep 2.1 m clear from that step.
Adjusting for ceiling height
Everything above assumes a standard British ceiling of around 2.4 m. Above that, a pendant hung at the same height starts to look stranded, because the empty space above it grows.
A reliable adjustment: add about 7 cm of drop for every 30 cm of ceiling above 2.4 m.
Over a dining table in a room with 3 m ceilings, that means hanging roughly 12 cm lower than you otherwise would, so nearer 65–75 cm above the tabletop. The fitting stays in proportion with the room rather than retreating into it.
When several pendants hang together
Over a table or an island, hang them all at the same height. A staggered arrangement looks accidental in a straight line, and the light is uneven.
Staggering only works when the fittings are clustered rather than aligned, such as three over a coffee table, or a group in a stairwell. There, varying the drop by 15–25 cm reads as a composition. Fittings that come in several shapes are made for this. Ovana has three silhouettes cut from the same surface, so a cluster holds together without the three being identical.
The cord is the limit
Before settling on a height, check the cord length on the product page. Ours arrive with 150 cm, adjustable at the ceiling, which covers everything on this page including a 3 m ceiling over a dining table.
Shortening a cord is routine. Lengthening one usually is not, since it means a new flex and, for most people, an electrician. If you have a stairwell or a double-height hall in mind, confirm the figure before you order rather than after.
Quick reference
| Position | Measured from | Height to bottom of shade |
|---|---|---|
| Dining table | Tabletop | 75–90 cm |
| Kitchen island | Worktop | 70–85 cm |
| Bedside | Mattress | 50–60 cm |
| Hallway, walkway | Floor | 2.1 m minimum |
| Stairwell | Highest step below | 2.1 m minimum |
Add roughly 7 cm of drop for every 30 cm of ceiling above 2.4 m.
For the decisions that come before height, such as how many fittings a table needs, what the shade does to the light, and pendant against flush, start with our guide to pendant lighting. Every fitting in the ceiling lights collection lists its dimensions and cord length.