Foyer & Entry

The first thing a guest sees. Choose for scale, then for sparkle.

An entry chandelier sets the register for the whole house. The usual mistake is to go too small: a foyer can carry more fixture than a dining room of the same floor area because there is no table beneath it and the eye reads it from a distance.

For a single-storey entry, add the room’s length and width in feet and use that figure in inches as a guide to diameter: a 12 by 14 ft hall suits a piece about 26 inches wide. Keep the bottom of the fixture at least 7 ft above the floor. In a two-storey foyer the fixture can be far taller; its lowest point should sit above the line of sight from the upper landing, and a multi-tier empire or a long cascade uses the height well.

Empire, Maria Theresa and French lustre pieces are the traditional choice; alabaster globes and modern rings suit newer houses.