Are you considering hanging pendant lights over your kitchen island? Maybe you don’t know how spaced out your lights should be? Or maybe you are unsure about the height of your lights? Whatever the question is that brought you here, we have the answers for you.
Finding out how many flights you need above your island, how spaced out they should be, and their height can be daunting, especially if you have never installed pendant lights over a kitchen island before.
You head online for some guidance but are met with pages and pages of conflicting and contradicting information. Frustrated and disappointed you are left wondering where to turn or who to trust.
Come and place your trust in us! Today, we are here with your ultimate guide to pendant lights over a kitchen island. Keep reading to find out the height, spacing, options, and everything else that you need to know about pendant lights over a kitchen island.
By the end of today’s article you will be an expert, so let’s dive in and get you the answers you need now!
Kitchen Island Pendant Lighting
Let’s start by answering some of the most popular questions we get about kitchen island pendant lighting.
How Many Lights Do I Need For A Six Foot Island?
You should aim for two pendant lights for a six-foot island. These can be spaced out equally over the island, providing plenty of light for you. Plus, they make a wonderful focal point too! You can also opt for one pendant light that has multiple lights coming off it if you prefer.
We recommend using the following placement guide for two lights above a six-foot island.
Height from the light to the unit – 30 to 36 inches
Width between each light – 24 to 36 inches
Width from final light to the end of the island – 6 to 12 inches
How Many Pendants Do I Need For An Eight Or Ten Foot Island?
Let’s start with an eight-foot island. Ideally, you want at least two pendant lights. Depending on the size of the lights you choose, you could use three smaller lights. Odd-numbered groupings can be more visually pleasing, but remember, it’s down to personal preference!
No matter how many lights you add above your kitchen island, you want them to be spaced out correctly.
For a ten-foot island, we recommend three pendant lights. This balances out well with the length of your island and offers plenty of lengths, no matter what side of the island you are on!
If you are opting for larger pendant lights, then we recommend scaling down to two lights. You only need to do this if each pendant light has a diameter of 25 inches or more.
If you are unsure how your pendant lights will look over your island, we have a hack for you! Take some helium balloons and place them above your island. They are fantastic visuals to help you see where the lights would look best and how many will fit the space.
Or you can use our tips below!
Spacing For Two Lights
Find the centre of your island. Move your tape measure 14 – 15 inches on either side. This is where each light should be placed.
Measure upwards from the counter of your island. You will want at least six inches of clearance between the edge of the island and the light circumference.
Spacing For Three Lights
Work inwards from the edge of the island. You want at least six inches between the edge of the island and your first light.
Ideally, you want 30 inches between each light or a minimum of two feet. You want the spacing to be identical between each light.
Pendant Light Height Over An Island
We’ve touched on the height briefly, but let’s look at it in more detail now. Ideally, you want your pendant light to be between 30 and 36 inches from the base of the light to the countertop.
Any lower and you might hit your head on the light or struggle to see friends or family on the other side of the island. Plus, you don’t want them so low that you lose all functionality of the kitchen island countertop!
You also don’t want your pendants to be higher than this as it can make your lights look disconnected from your island. Putting them up too high can remove any cohesion between your island and the lights that you were trying to create.
You also need to consider how far away your lights are from the floor. You don’t want the base of your pendant light to be more than 72 inches higher than the floor. You want your pendant lights to make a statement, rather than get lost in a tall ceiling.
You also need to consider if your pendant lights are blocking sight lines. You don’t want to dodge your light to speak to someone standing around your island! You can use the helium balloons we mentioned earlier to see if your pendant lights would block any sight lines before you install them.
It’s worth noting that the numbers listed today are just recommendations. Every kitchen is different, so these numbers might not work perfectly for you. However, they are good guidelines that you can follow and try to stick to them where possible.
How Big Should Pendant Lights Be Over A Kitchen Island?
Finally, when considering your pendant lights, you also need to consider the width of your kitchen island. If your island is 3 feet wide, you don’t want large pendant lights with a big diameter. And wider islands should not have narrow lights above them.
Measure the width of your kitchen island and use this, along with the length, to work out how big your pendant lights should be.
What To Consider When Choosing Pendant Lights For A Kitchen Island
When choosing pendant lights to sit above your kitchen island, there are a few more factors you should consider. Let’s take a look at them quickly now.
Ceiling Height
First, you should consider your ceiling height. For newer homes, this isn’t as much of an issue. But for older homes, where high ceilings were often used, the height of your ceiling is something you need to consider.
You will want to make sure that the pendants aren’t lost in the high ceiling or hanging down too low. You want to aim for 72 inches from the floor to the base of the light, and 30 inches from the base to the countertop.
Now, depending on the size of your room, you might need to tweak these numbers slightly. Take care not to adjust them too much, as you don’t want to continuously move your head to see people on the other side of the island.
Focal Point In Your Kitchen
Next, you want to consider what the focal point of your kitchen is. If you choose pendant lights that aren’t clear, they tend to set the tone of your kitchen and become the focal point.
If you want your kitchen island, and the lights above it to become the focal point, great, but if not, then you need to decide what the focal point will be.
The focal point will vary from kitchen to kitchen, so be sure to spend some time considering what you think will work best. Once you have picked a focal point, your next task is making sure that your pendant lights don’t steal the show!
Opt for smaller or see-through pendant lights that you still like, but are more subtle. This helps to create a nice feature above your kitchen island, but one that will not become the focal point of the room.
What Should Your Pendant Lights Match?
There are no real rules here when it comes to matching your pendant lights to part of your kitchen! You can match them to the colour of your kitchen cupboards, the colour of your appliances, or your faucet, the choice is yours!
If you are stuck for some inspiration, though, we have a few tips you might find helpful. Metal mixing is a great way to match your pendant lights to your kitchen. You could pick a colour similar to your kitchen cupboard handles for example and use that for your pendant lights.
We think it looks great when the colours are similar but aren’t identical. It ensures that your kitchen is still cohesive, but unique.
Plus, it can make your kitchen look more expensive if there are some different metals in there, as it doesn’t look like it was all bought in the same place on a deal. We do advise keeping all your cupboard handles the same colour though.
It can look beautiful if you pair gold pendant lights with chrome doors and draw handles and a matching faucet. To complete the look, replicate the tone of your pendant lights somewhere else in your room. This could be light gold tones in your bar stools or frames on your walls.
We do recommend keeping all of your plumbing fixtures the same colours though as this creates a cohesive look.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, everything you need to know about hanging pendant lights above your kitchen island. Don’t forget to use the guidelines we outlined to space out your pendant lights and ensure that they don’t block your sight line!
I’m Ida Oliveira, and now I want to impart my knowledge of all things interior design onto you. If you’re going through the same process of designing your house, I want to help.
So, I hope that you’ll find everything you need to know on my website. If I make the process even a little easier and more fun for you, Alexander and Pearl will have done its job.
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