Chandeliers

A chandelier is the one fixture in a house that people look at on purpose. Everything else in a room gets noticed sideways — a chandelier gets noticed directly, the moment someone walks in. That's why it's worth getting right, and why it's the piece most often bought badly: wrong size, wrong height, wrong drop for the ceiling.

What a chandelier actually does in a Canadian home

Between November and March, most of us are living under artificial light from about four in the afternoon. That's not a small detail — it's roughly five months a year where the light in your dining room is the atmosphere of your dining room. A chandelier over a table does two jobs at once: it puts warm light where people are eating, and it draws the ceiling down so a room feels enclosed rather than cavernous.

Our chandeliers run from linear multi-light fixtures built to span a rectangular table or a kitchen island, to crystal and glass pieces that scatter light across a ceiling, to organic and sculptural designs in wood, rattan and brass for rooms where the fixture is meant to read as an object first.

Sizing: the two numbers that matter

Diameter. For a chandelier over a dining table, aim for roughly half to two-thirds the width of the table. For a chandelier lighting a whole room rather than a table, add the room's length and width in feet and treat that sum as a diameter in inches — a 12 × 14 room lands around 26 inches.

Height. Over a dining table, the bottom of the fixture sits 30 to 34 inches above the tabletop on a standard 8-foot ceiling. Add about 3 inches of clearance for every additional foot of ceiling. In an entryway or over open floor, keep at least 7 feet of clearance from the floor so nobody walks into it.

For rectangular tables and kitchen islands, a linear chandelier almost always beats a round one — it follows the shape of the surface instead of fighting it.

Wiring and bulbs

Every chandelier here runs on 120V at 60Hz — the standard Canadian residential supply. No adapter, no step-down transformer, no rewiring the fixture before it goes up.

Most take standard E12 candelabra or E26 medium bulbs, so replacements are available at any hardware store rather than special-order. For a dining room, 2700K is the warm range you want — food and skin both read better under warm light.

Installation, honestly

A chandelier is a hardwired fixture. If you're replacing an existing ceiling fixture on an existing box, it's a straightforward swap for anyone comfortable working with the breaker off. If you're adding a fixture where none existed, or the box isn't rated for the weight, that's electrician work — and in most provinces, new circuits require a permit and inspection.

Heavier fixtures need a fan-rated or fixture-rated box. Check the weight on the product page before assuming your existing box will carry it.

From a Canadian company that eats dinner in the dark five months a year.

Frequently asked questions

How high should a chandelier hang over a dining table?

30 to 34 inches from the tabletop to the bottom of the fixture on an 8-foot ceiling. Add roughly 3 inches per additional foot of ceiling height.

What size chandelier do I need for my dining room?

Half to two-thirds the width of the table. For general room lighting, add the room's length and width in feet and use that number as the diameter in inches.

Do your chandeliers work with Canadian voltage?

Yes. Every fixture is built for 120V/60Hz standard Canadian residential wiring. No adapter or transformer required.

Can I install a chandelier myself?

Replacing an existing hardwired fixture is a reasonable DIY job with the breaker off. Adding a new fixture location, or hanging a heavy fixture on a box that isn't fixture-rated, should go to a licensed electrician.

Are chandeliers dimmable?

Most are, but it depends on the bulb and the switch. LED bulbs need a dimmer rated for LED loads — pairing an LED bulb with an old incandescent dimmer is the usual cause of buzzing and flicker.