The 30-inch rule is the sweet spot designers swear by when hanging pendant lights above a dining table or a kitchen island

An open-plan kitchen with a high ceiling and three pendant lights hung above the kitchen island.

Interior experts have plenty of tricks up their sleeve that the rest of us have never heard of. The latest one I recently stumbled upon is the 30-inch pendant light rule which is a trick industry experts swear by to help them hang these light above a surface like a dining table or a kitchen island at the perfect height.

I came across this (primarily) kitchen and dining room lighting idea last week when reading interior stylist Colin King’s Substack where he nonchalantly mentioned the rule. Having never heard of it, I naturally turned to other interior and lighting experts to brush up on it.