pendants over 8 1/2' eating peninsula

15 years ago

Okay, we've got a long peninsula (11 feet total-- but 8 1/2 for eat-at area).

Does anyone have experience/ thoughts about lighting such a long run?

The question is how many pendants and of what size?

I know everyone says odd numbers are best-- can we get away with three big or should we aim for five?

The peninsula divides the kitchen from the livingroom, and will be a focal point.

Any tips on pendants would be enormously helpful.

Our house is fairly contemporary (but in a warmish way), with lots of warm wood tones.

The countertop will be honed absolute black and the entire wall beyond the peninsula (looking from the living room) is windows/sliding doors.

I'm sorry for no pics, but we are in the drywall dust phase of the remodel.

The electrician needs to rough-in the wiring and wants to know if we can use the existing track (sans current can lights) for pendants or if we need to add boxes....

Any thoughts? I am nearing the burn-out stage of staring vacant-eyed in the face of such questions...

Thank you!!!

Comments (10)

gglks
15 years ago
i think 3 should be fine......5 sounds like too much to me, unless they are mini pendants.

i would search for pendants you like, and then determine how many would look right. i kept thinking 3 because of the odd number rule. then i found pendants i really wanted and they were bigger than i thought.

oh....fyi, our island is about 7 1/2 ft.....

we went with 2 and it looks perfect.

hope this helps.....
saxxy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks so much gglks--
I'd love to see pics of how yours turned out.
Related Discussions
50' of storage in peninsula--2/3 cabs and 1/3 drawers?
Q
Comments (12)
Kellie--Some of that bigger stuff can go in the pantry, but not all of it can. I want all my food stuffs in the pantry first and foremost. I hate walking out to the garage every day to get that cans, etc. There will be left over room in there for non-food items. But remember, I have a LOT of non-food items, many huge and awkward, to store too. Blfenton--I don't mind the cabs in some places. I will store the stuff I hardly ever use (like the huge commercial stock pot on the kitchen side and the punch bowl on the DR side) in the back of the cabs. They don't fit well in drawers. I don't care about digging to the back the two times a year I need those items. I'm sorry if I confused you about the drawers. I was thinking 3 shallow drawers across the top at 16.6" wide each. Then a doored cabinet under the two closest to the fireplace. The cavity inside the two doors would be all open to allow me to store bigger, wider things and move them around as my inventory changes. Then, under the right of those 3 drawers would be 2 deeper drawers, which makes a 3-drawer stack. Does that make sense? Frankly, right now I don't have everything at hand to measure. Nor do I have the time to lay every single item I have out to obsess over what will fit in what size of drawer and how deep that drawer should be. I have so many other decisions I need to make for the house that are holding us up from making progress. Island will be my prep area. I don't have enough storage there for all my prep stuff, so it will overflow back to the drawers flanking the rangetop and share space with my cooking supplies. The drawers to the right of the rangetop will also be cooking items and baking items as I moved the baking zone to the right of the range. Garbage is in a pullout at the north end of the island so it's usable for prep and cleanup chores. Here's my initial cabinet layout before the peninsula shrunk. I also decided on 4-drawer stacks flanking the rangetop instead of 3-drawer stacks. Thanks for the words about my uncle. He wanted to die, but that doesn't make it any easier for those of us left missing him.
...See More
Pendant Lighting over Peninsula
Q
Comments (2)
I think I'd be annoyed by the placement you are describing (pendant just to right of sink). Instead of pendants, you could look at mounting something (sconces or track lighting) to the beam, or use recessed cans.
...See More
2 pendants over island or 1 over the sink???
Q
Comments (2)
Though my kitchen layout is different, it's similar in terms of size and lighting needs. I'm going with two pendants over the peninsula (a little larger than your island); however, I don't like "ceiling clutter", and (in both you layout and mine) I think another pendant over the sink could be just that: Clutter. I currently have a simple cornice (not shaped, just a plain board) over the sink, which hides a florescent light. Works fine, the bulbs last forever, and the light is essentially "invisible". I'm going with the same thing over my new sink -- mine'll be more simple than these examples.
...See More
Can I use these pendants over my kitchen island with 8' ceiling??
Q
Comments (24)
I'm not going to get into the conversation over height of pendant lights, but I will add that you should definitely mix metals. It's what gives kitchens visual interest, makes them look custom/new/modern, and keeps them from looking like builder grade. And that would be especially important to you because your kitchen is so white and could lean to the boring side if you're not careful. So in other words ... do not match your pendant lights to your faucet finish.
...See More
amylovesbud
15 years ago
Our island is about the same size and we are going with two. But we do have columns on each end, so I think if they weren't there I would have done three. I'll tell you how it looks at the end of the week!
saxxy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the feedback, amylovesbud...
and good luck this week!

Anyone else???
gglks
15 years ago
here's a few pics to see what 2 pendants look like
nuccia
15 years ago
I agree with gglks that the number you use depends on the style and size of lighting fixture itself; you'll need fewer lights with larger units.

How deep is your island? if it's 48" or more, one mini pendant would not have enough spread. if your counter is 24-30", then you could use mini pendants.

My island is 50" x 72" and I have 4 contemporary mini pendants in a rectangular shape.

It is an important decision; try to hold off deciding until you find the fixture you like (or at least sure of the size).
megradek
15 years ago
I now have the same dilemma. My island will be almost 9' by 4' and I had the electrician rough in 2 spots because I wanted a couple pretty chandeliers - and now DH has completely nixed that idea. Boo hoo hoo. I am so upset about this because it has been in my "vision" for this kitchen the whole time. So I will need to find 2 larger size pendants for the space - unless it's pretty easy to add another box later on?? We are just starting drywall so I don't know if I'll be able to change the positions/number very easily. didn't mean to take over your post!

I think that 2 pendants should be substantial (as gglks' kitchen, which by the way makes me drool everytime I see that backsplash) - what is your lighting plan for the remaining portion of the island?
saxxy
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow, beautiful gglks!
nuccia--
Our peninsula will be 24"+15" overhang, so roughly 40" deep and will be a one level sit-at, so good light for homework/food prep, eating, etc... is important.
mairin--
I'm sorry to about your vision gone awry!
The good news is that there are millions of pendants to choose from.
We will have 6 inset lights and one middle ceiling fixture on the rest of the kitchen ceiling, but the pendants are pretty much it for the peninsula.
The electrician wired in 3 boxes yesterday, 27" apart and gave me a catalogue of pendants since I seemed so stuck.
I liked the ones below--
Any thoughts as to whether they'd work?
At 11 1/2 " wide... too small?

Here is a link that might be useful: pendant possibility
megradek
15 years ago
I love that pendant! I don't think it will be too small, especially for three of them. my quick math tells me it will leave about 16 inches between each?
saxxy
Original Author
15 years ago
mairin--
Thanks for taking a look.
It would leave about 15 1/2" between,
would that be enough do you think?

pendants over 8 1/2' eating peninsula

Comments (10)

gglks

saxxy
Original Author

Related Discussions

amylovesbud

saxxy
Original Author

gglks

nuccia

megradek

saxxy
Original Author

megradek

saxxy
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

pendants over 8 1/2' eating peninsula

Comments (10)

gglks

saxxyOriginal Author

Related Discussions

amylovesbud

saxxyOriginal Author

gglks

nuccia

megradek

saxxyOriginal Author

megradek

saxxyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

saxxy
Original Author

saxxy
Original Author

saxxy
Original Author

saxxy
Original Author