Choosing light fixtures room by room

Choosing light fixtures can be a daunting process because once they’re installed by an electrician, it’s a pain to change your mind.

Follow these simple guidelines to get it right the first time: “A dining room’s fixture should be one-third to two-thirds the width of the table, explains Trunck. “In a kitchen, divide the length of the kitchen island by four to get the number of recommended pendants. Go extra big to really make a statement in a room, or swap your single chandelier for two light fixtures when dealing with an extra-long dining table.

In a living room, consider the size and scale of the room, as well as the height of the ceiling. Larger rooms will need a larger chandelier (or even more than one). A handy equation is to add the width and length of your room in feet. That total would be the recommended width of your chandelier, in inches. For example, five feet plus 12 feet is 27 feet; this means you’d need a 27-inch chandelier.

Bedrooms typically run around 150 to 200 square feet. Choose a chandelier between 24 inches and 36 inches to match the scale of the room.”