Lighting for your kitchen is an important part of your design or renovation. Choosing the right pendant lights to hang over your island can take your design and elevate it to the next level. You can add elegance to a classic kitchen design, rustic flair to a country kitchen, or spice up a modern kitchen. Matching style, however, is only the beginning when it comes to choosing pendant lights. Let’s look at what you should consider when choosing the right pendant for your kitchen. 

First, Do You Really Need a Pendant Light? 

The short answer is, yes! The long answer is, maybe or maybe not. The ultimate choice is yours. Before you purchase a pendant light, however, make sure that it will match the overall design for your kitchen and the room/space on the other side of the island. Consider, 

• The overall flow of the kitchen and adjacent room/space
• The sightlines from the kitchen looking beyond the island and from beyond the island, looking into the kitchen
• The ceiling and space above your island to ensure you can hang pendant lights 

Unique Pendant Lights in the Kitchen

Okay, You Really Need Pendant Lights Above Your Island

Now that you know a pendant light is the right choice for your kitchen island, let’s look at what you’ll need to consider in choosing the right one. In selecting your pendant light (or lights) consider, 

• The width of your kitchen island. You should hang pendant lights at least double their width apart from each other. How many lights your island can have above it will depend, then, on its size and the size of the lights you choose. So, if you select wide lights, you’ll have fewer of them than if you choose narrow lights. 
• Remember the sightlines for your room and the lighting needs for your island. If you want to see certain parts of your kitchen from the adjacent area beyond the island, ensure you use lighting that will not interfere with that sight. 
• Choose lights that will hang 30 to 36 inches above the countertop from their base (and not more than 72 inches from the base of the light to the floor). When choosing lights, take into consideration how tall your ceiling is and make sure your lights can hang low enough if you have a very high ceiling. 
• If you use multiple lights, give them about 6 inches of clearance over the edge of the counter. This will help ensure that anyone especially tall (or carrying something) doesn’t hit the lights as they come around the kitchen island. 
• Choose a style of light that matches your overall kitchen. 
• Don’t overwhelm your design with your pendant lights. If you choose a wide pendant light, make sure that it matches the overall design and doesn’t overpower your kitchen. Like a nice necklace, your pendant light should accent the room, not dominate everything.

Are you designing or renovating your kitchen? Browse our gallery for more ideas to help you bring it together and contact us to set up an appointment.