In this post we’re sharing our top picks for kitchen island lighting, including both chandelier and pendant lights! Keep reading to discover these picks.
Choosing the right lighting for a kitchen can take it from a cold place with just cabinets and cold countertops to a gorgeous, homey place to gather.
People really like islands in kitchens. They add great workspace, eating areas, and a central place to hang around with friends and family while hopefully eating some yummy food.
Islands come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. That can make choosing the right lighting a bit of a challenge above a kitchen island.
That is why we’ve put this post together where we’re sharing some of our favorite tips for choosing the perfect kitchen island lighting along with some of our top picks.
Tips for Choosing Kitchen Island Lighting
Keep Proportions in Mind
Choosing lighting that fits well size-wise in your space is one of the most important things to think about. If you have a massive kitchen with a huge island, picking a single, tiny pendant light isn’t going to do favors for your room. On the flip side, choosing a large ornate chandelier for a tiny kitchen will overwhelm the space and feel off.
Know Your Ceiling Height
The same thing goes with ceiling height. Kitchen Island lighting typically needs to provide task lighting for preparing food. That said, make sure that lighting will be close enough to the island to provide the right amount of light. The most common guideline for how high to hang a light above a kitchen island is 30-36″ (about 3 feet).
Avoid Going Overboard
Just because you can fit 10 pendant lights over you island doesn’t mean that you should. There isn’t a good rule as to the right number of lights to put above an island, but it’s best to go for a less is more look to avoid a kitchen looking overcrowded and cutting off lines of sight.
Most kitchen islands won’t need much more than 2 or 3 lights hanging above them.
Chandeliers as Kitchen Island Lighting
While pendant lights are the more traditional option for kitchen island lighting, we can never pass up a good chandelier opportunity. In particular, if you have a smaller kitchen island, choosing one chandelier to make a statement above it could be a great option. On the other hand, if you have a large kitchen island, you have an opportunity to use multiple chandeliers. Here is an example from The Fox Group that shows how gorgeous it can look to use chandeliers above an island.
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Pendants as Kitchen Island Lighting
Pendant lights are a great choice for a kitchen island because of their utility of providing direct light downward toward an area. Here are some of our top picks!
Looking for more help with your kitchen? Check out these posts:
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