How often and for how long will you be looking at the artwork from that particular spot. Where will you and guests normally be looking at it - sitting in the DR, sitting in an adjoining room, walking by to another area of the house. Depending on the size of the artwork, pictures hung in a DR are usually hung a little lower than in other rooms to prevent neck strain when looking at the artwork from a sitting position.

Dining room artwork should be positioned for maximal viewing from a seated position at the table. I would not raise the chandelier in order to view a painting from another room, there's no need. On a practical note, a crystal chandelier is far more appropriate than a linear light for the British Colonial style of decor.

Blfenton, good questions. The painting is hung at the best height for this home, which is usual hanging height. The wall it's on is one that follows the vault of the ceiling so to lower it would look disproportionate to the height of the wall. There is no furniture on that wall to "weight" the piece lower. Also, there is a 4 ft.h x 3 ft.w x 2.5ft.d alcove opening between the family and dining room, as well as an open hall with the dining room to the side, so the painting is seen throughout the day when one is moving about the house. Because of the open layout of this home, I prefer standing height as the best viewing angle for this piece of art, rather than yielding to the best view for diners. You both taught me something, though. I did not know that art in a dining room should normally be lowered.

Kswl2, I know that you're absolutely right, that the crystal is for British Colonial and linear is tropical, rustic/contemporary. All of my family room furniture is Queen Anne style with some rattan mixed in. The dining room has traditional raised panel built-in cabinets and a parson style dining table and chairs. However, the accessories and floral arrangements being purchased are casual, tropical. As I write this, staying primarily British Colonial sounds feels most appropriate for my home, which argues for keeping my traditional chandelier.

I would stick with the crystal chandelier, it is timeless, your new fixture is not.

Leave the chandy as is. Hang the artwork at the right height and it will be fine.

OK, a big thank you to all responders. I see the votes are unanimous. You've walked me back from the "cliff," and I'm staying with my classic rather than the trendy. As for lowering the painting, does the bottom of the frame start about parallel to the top of the chair backs? I'll give it a try and see how it feels. The height of the painting is also complicating the table floral arrangement, causing it to be taller to fill in the blank wall space between the chair back and the frame. Lowering the canvas would take care of that as well.

If there's no furniture on the wall I think you could definitely budge a little low. I like to hang my paintings 60" on centre, or 60" to the main focal point of the painting. So with a large painting, would that kind of height fix the floral arrangement problem?

Robo, I measure 63" from the floor to the center of the canvas. The gap between the top of the chair backs and frame bottom is 6" so lowering to 60" from center would close the gap by 3". Chair backs are 34" from the floor. Art, including frame, is 45" high x 56" wide.

Right now, the bottom of the chandelier is parallel to the center of the painting. Allowing for the chandy to overlap the top 4" of the canvas, the painting would have to be lowered by about 13" for the chandy to remain in place and not obstruct most of the painting when viewed from a distance. Obviously this is too low for the painting. Personally, I think it looks ridiculous to have a light fixture cover the center, top half of a piece of art when it is viewed 99% of the time from a distance at a standing position. Lowering the painting and raising the chandelier sounds like the right compromise to me. What are your suggestions given these parameters?

Looking at it, well, I sketched it out and I'd be tempted to move the painting down 3" but also keep the chandelier at like 30" above the table. I think you'll just look "through" the chandelier and not even notice it obstructing the painting after awhile. Although I will say when I googled "art dining room" I saw a lot of really high chandeliers!

Christopher always used to say that you don't want to give it all away...rather you want to keep luring the eye in by gradually revealing more, so if the chandy blocks the pic, that's ok.

Well, tonight has certainly been an education. Robo, thank you for taking the time to do the layout. I think your recommendation of down by 3" sounds right to me. What puzzles me is that the certified framer, with training and years of experience, centered this piece on the wall in both directions. Apparently her training was different. I think I'll ask her about it as she's a lovely person and won't mind. After looking through the houzz photos again, the take away is that dining room art is usually hung lower and that the entire composition of the room, and size of the art, has to be taken into consideration. I've also read online that when one has a vaulted dining room ceiling, chandeliers are hung higher than the norm. Most chandeliers in the houzz photos, especially with large art, were hung high. At this time, mine is at 31" above table top. I think I'll experiment by getting a S-hook to temporarily raise it and see how things look.

I'll think about your advice to keep some mystery, Annie. Mahalo, which means "thank you" in Hawaiian.

Val, I am so glad you decided to keep the crystal chandelier. They are traditional yes, but also incomparable in beauty, IMO.

Holly-Kay, thank you for taking the time to respond. That means a great deal to me. Sometimes I can get carried away with the Hawaiian tropical as love that aspect, too. Also, as I age, selecting décor items that are easier to clean has been a goal. However, I agree with your comment. There is no fixture that can compare with that feeling of being pampered when dining under cut crystal.

You might be able to install a chandelier lift/hoist. They are a bit expensive, but would make cleaning much easier.

O.K., Annie D., I have to ask. Did you already know the Hawaiian for "no problem," or "you're welcome" or did you have to look it up? I had to go to the web to translate your message. Anyway, love it! What a classy response.

Fun2B, forgot to say thanks regarding the chandelier lift. That is a completely new to me. I'll certainly check it out.