A stairwell or double-height foyer is the one place in a house where a light fixture gets to be architecture. It is also the easiest place to get the scale wrong. The guide below is the sizing method we use.
Start with the vertical drop
Measure from the ceiling mount to the finish point — usually 6 to 7 feet above the lowest floor the fixture hangs over. A cascading fixture should fill roughly two-thirds of that open vertical space. A standard two-story void (18–20 feet) wants a fixture dropping 10–13 feet; a triple-height entry can carry a full 16-foot column of light. This is why staircase chandeliers are sold by the number of lights: 12–18 lights suit most two-story voids, 22 and up suit true triple-height spaces.
Diameter follows the void, not the room
In a stairwell, the fixture must clear the stair's swing line — keep at least 24 inches between the fixture's edge and any step or railing a person can reach. Measure the open well between the railings; the fixture diameter should sit comfortably inside it, typically 40–60% of the well's width.
Placement: center the void, not the floor
Center the fixture over the open well between the flights, not over the entry floor — from the door, the light should read as floating in the tallest part of the space. In a foyer without a stair, center over the entry table if there is one; that anchors the composition.
Plan the installation before you buy
Anything hanging in a stairwell should be installed from scaffolding or a platform ladder by a licensed electrician, and the mounting point must be rated for the fixture's weight. Adjustable-cable fixtures earn their keep here: heights can be tuned after hanging, so the two-thirds rule can be dialed in on site rather than gambled on paper.
The short version
Fill two-thirds of the vertical void, keep 24 inches of clearance from railings, center over the stairwell, and buy adjustable cables. Browse the Chandeliers & Pendants collection — configurations from a single accent pendant to a five-meter column, with free US shipping and a 2-year warranty. We sell final sale, so send us your stairwell measurements first and we will confirm the size — free, and before you spend anything.