While chandeliers may once have fitted those clichéd settings, today they come in all shapes and sizes to suit any taste. Whether you’re looking to create the feel of an opulent manor or just after a fresh and interesting feature for your modern country interior, chandeliers are a great lighting option.

And they’re so versatile! You can stick with traditional styles – like an intricate chandelier over the table in a formal dining room – or you can go with something a little bit quirkier. One of the most charming, whimsical interiors popular today has to be a chandelier hanging over a freestanding claw-foot tub in the bathroom. Can you imagine luxuriating in the warm water in such a room? Talk about decadent!

The trick with choosing a chandelier is getting the right size. One that’s too big can be overwhelming and loom over the space, making it feel cramped. But if it’s too small, it fades into the background – not what you want when you’re trying to make a statement! Happily, unlike Goldilocks and her porridge, you don’t have to try several fixtures to find the one that’s right for you. Once you’ve decided on a style, there are some simple rules to help you pick the most appropriate size.

One easy way is to add the width and length of the room together in feet and convert that figure to inches to come up with the correct width for the chandelier. So if you’re putting it in a place that’s 12 feet by 16 feet, the fixture should be around 28in in diameter. One installed in a dining room should be about half the width of the table, whether it’s round or rectangular. If you’ve picked a ‘heavy-looking’ style – one that’s dripping with crystals or made of stout metal – it should be smaller than a simple, airy design in the same room. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules and you should always trust your instincts.