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How high off island do pendant lights go?

14 years ago

How high off the granite surface on our island should the bottowm of the pendant lights go? Our island is 87 1/2" by 38 1/2". The ceiling is 92".

There will be 3 lights; would you start the lights about 17/18" off the edge?

Thank you!

Featured Answer

warmfridge

14 years ago

You can find recommendations for anything from 24'' to 40'' from the island, to 68-72'' from the floor, but it really depends on a few things. How high is the island, how wide is the pendant, how wide is the island, how tall are you, and what do you use the island for? You need to keep the pendant out of the way of your tallest cook while s/he is using the island, particularly for tasks like rolling dough which involves leaning forward. You also need to consider the shape of the pendant and the size of the area it will light, to avoid dark spots. Do you need the pendants high enough to avoid obstructing your view into an adjacent room?

Better to figure out your own requirements rather than go by someone's set numbers.

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Comments (6)

nuccia
14 years ago
I agree with all of the above.

My electrician said that 30" off the countertop is standard, BUT, once the pendant was manually held at that position, it was obvious that I'd be looking directly into the light bulb.

If you have 3 single pendants and plan to hang them in a line, you might divide the counter into 3 equal squares, then place each pendant in the middle of each square.

I hope this helps.
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As most common distance to have the pendant over the island/tabletops are 36", I would go with that distance but as you have a high ceiling and more room to play with I don't see why 4' couldn't work! I think it can look fine! Also, our lighting could be a great addition to your home. We do custom lighting so we will be able to work to feed your needs and wants. Different amount of pendants, and size of canopy etc. We also do 2D drawing before so you can have an idea of what it would look like before committing! Feel free to visit onhttps://shakuff.com/ or our instagram @shakuff_ :)
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Hi Lizzie, The bottom of the pendant should be at least 75-90cm / 30” from the surface of the island. Pendant lights should be hung around 72” from the floor to the base of the light fixture. Good proportion practice should be exercised when hanging lights over a kitchen island, with equal space left between each pendant. Approximately 75cm (this depends on the diameter width). Smaller diameters can support a smaller gap between each fitting. To help give a visual reference before installing the fixture, a clever trick is to hang balloons roughly around the size as the pendants, this will help visualize the space more accurately and help determine is the light will look right. https://www.mullanlighting.com/blog/correct-height-hang-pendant-lights-chandeliers/ I hope it works out for you! Your friends at Mullan Lighting.
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kaidan
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you. DH and I will be trying to figure this out tonight. Rejuvenation has the custom lighting and I was trying to figure out what size pole to get.
donnakay2009
14 years ago
Our GC was 6'4" and thought I had the electrician hang the pendants too low...so we raised them up. It really is a matter of playing around with how they look to you. Some posters here have said to hang balloons and see how they look. The electrician and I had to play with them a bit (ours had adjustable poles) until we got it right. My DH is 5'10" and I'm 5'5", so we fiddled around until they looked good to us.
vate
14 years ago
37" is the perfect height off the countertop. Not coincidentally, this is exactly how far our pendants are above our island, which is similar in size to yours but smaller (65" X 30"). We have 96" ceilings.

Our pendants are large (14" across the bottom) so I felt they had to be farther up than say, 30" or 32". Also, I really didn't want the pendants to be within my vision or headspace while I'm working at the island.
amberley
14 years ago
Ours are exactly 30" off the island counter, and I think that it works well. They measure 8" across the bottom of the fixture, and are spaced (there are 2) approx 28" apart (from the edge of each shade). They are about 21" from the edge of the island.

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