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Choosing a pendant light: four decisions, in order

A dining room pendant light should be chosen based on dimensions, not on a photograph. Four questions are enough, and three of them have answers published by the brands themselves.

Height above the table

The bottom of the light should be placed between 50 and 82 cm above the tabletop. The range of this interval is not due to a lack of precision: it comes from the brands, which do not publish the same value. Thirty-two centimeters separate the two extremes. The dimension to follow is the one published by the brand that manufactures the chosen pendant light.

The three ranges

Diameter relative to the table

Louis Poulsen suggests a diameter between one-third and one-half the width of the table. The ratio applies to the table, not the floor area: two dining rooms of the same size do not require the same light fixture if their tables differ. A 100 cm table opens a range of 33 to 50 cm, a 120 cm table one of 40 to 60 cm, and a 180 cm table one of 60 to 90 cm.

Three measured pendant lights

Light color

ADEME, in a fact sheet published on October 15, 2025, places the color temperature below 3,000 K for a living room and bedroom, and above 4,000 K for a kitchen and bathroom. Louis Poulsen narrows this down: from 2,700 to 3,000 K in bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms, and about 2,700 K above a table.

Choosing your kelvins

Bulb or integrated LED

The Bulb type filter sorts the 96 pieces into four families: integrated LED, E27, E14, and G9. The Light temperature filter separates two cases, "Depends on bulb" and "Integrated LED." The latter provides a value in kelvins; the former, as its name suggests, refers to the bulb that will be installed.

LED bulbs and bases

Three brands publish an installation height, and none are the same

The three ranges below are those that each brand publishes in its own guide, measured between the bottom of the pendant light and the tabletop. They cannot be averaged. They are cited here as sources for a measurement, and two of these brands are not in the catalog.

Nordlux

From 50 to 70 cm, regardless of diameter. Its lower limit, 50 cm, is the closest of the three to the table, and its range covers 20 of the 32 cm difference between the brands.

Louis Poulsen

From 55 to 62 cm for small diameters, from 60 to 70 cm for large ones. This is the only one of the three to make the dimension dependent on the size of the light fixture. The company also publishes the spacing for two pendant lights above the same table: about 80 cm.

Flos

From 70 to 82 cm, regardless of diameter. Its range starts where Nordlux's ends: at the same height, a table lit according to Flos has its fixture 20 cm higher than according to Nordlux.

Two key pieces, and the audit that identified them

A piece is considered a reference when its manufacturer publishes the designer, year, and original intended use. This check should be performed by opening the manufacturer's website, not the retailer's. Out of nine pendant lights in this collection verified on September 14, 2026, at their respective manufacturers, four provided no reference facts, and two did not include a year.

PH Artichoke pendant light by Louis Poulsen, designed by Poul Henningsen, pale green finish

PH Artichoke Louis Poulsen · Poul Henningsen, 1958 · MoMA Collection Designed for the Langelinie Pavillonen restaurant in Copenhagen, where it is still hanging. 72 leaves arranged in twelve rows hide the light source from all angles.

Sonora pendant light by Oluce, designed by Vico Magistretti, white dome with gold interior

Sonora Oluce · Vico Magistretti, 1976 In the Oluce catalog continuously since 1976. The company documents changes in material: etched blown glass in 1990, methacrylate in 2003.

Ten brands produce the 96 pendant lights on this page

Catalogs with over ninety references

Artemide has 113 light fixtures in its catalog, Louis Poulsen has 104, and Tom Dixon has 96, across all categories. These are the three brands whose pendant light collection is complemented by a full range of table lamps, floor lamps, and wall sconces.

From twenty to fifty references

New Works has 47, Vical 39, Produzione Privata 30, and Oluce 20. Produzione Privata is Michele De Lucchi's personal studio; Oluce, founded in 1945, bills itself as the oldest Italian design lighting company still in operation.

Fewer than twenty references

Ango has 14, Ferroluce 11, and Atelier Areti 5. All three can be found in the Brands filter on this page, which organizes the 96 pendant lights by manufacturer.

Filter pendant lights by color and material

Fifteen shades and seven materials are listed for the 96 pieces on this page. Clicking a chip opens the collection filtered by that value only.

By color

By material

Dimensions: three measured pendant lights

The dimensions below are those from manufacturer spec sheets. Based on the one-third to one-half table width rule published by Louis Poulsen, a 100 cm table requires a 33 to 50 cm diameter, and a 180 cm table requires 60 to 90 cm. These three pieces cover this range.

Model	Brand and year	Published diameters	Source and rating
VL 45 Radiohus	Louis Poulsen · Vilhelm Lauritzen, late 1930s	Ø 17.5 cm and Ø 25 cm	1 × E14 20 W or 1 × E27 100 W · IP20
PH Artichoke	Louis Poulsen · Poul Henningsen, 1958	Ø 48 cm, height 44.5 cm and Ø 60 cm, height 58 cm	1 × E27 100 W · IP20
Sonora	Oluce · Vico Magistretti, 1976	Ø 90 cm	1 × E27 150 W · IP20

Frequently asked questions about pendant lights

At what height should a light be hung above a dining table?

Between 50 and 82 cm from the tabletop depending on the brand publishing the dimension: Nordlux suggests 50 to 70 cm, Louis Poulsen 55 to 62 for small diameters and 60 to 70 for large ones, Flos 70 to 82. These ranges cannot be averaged. Apply the rule of the brand that manufactures your light.

How much clearance should be left under a pendant light in a hallway?

The decree of December 24, 2015 for residential buildings and the decree of April 20, 2017 for public buildings set the same value: a light fixture suspended above a walkway must leave a free passage of at least 2.20 m. These texts target accessible paths; they provide a reference dimension but impose no requirements inside a private home.

Can an IP20 pendant light be used in a bathroom?

The second digit of an IP20 rating is zero: no protection against water is declared under the NF EN 60529 standard, where the first digit concerns solid bodies and the second concerns water. The Ingress protection filter on this page isolates IP65 pieces, which are declared to be resistant to water jets.

For two pendant lights above the same table, what spacing is needed?

Louis Poulsen publishes a value for this case: about 80 cm between the two light fixtures. The installation height remains within the same range as for a single pendant light.

Pendant lights and chandeliers