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Lighting Design Dilemma Kitchens

Question about Pendant lights over a 10' x 5' Island

3 years ago

I read articles on how to calculate the number of pendants over an island but I'd still like some opinions. There is going to be a tray ceiling with stamped metal (silver) above the island so I definitely don't want to make a mistake. It looks like I can put 2 large pendants, 4 pendants around 12" or 5 pendants around 8". There is only one pendant in the 20" size that I like and more I like in the smaller 8 - 10" size. Would you go with the 2 large pendants or 4 - 5 smaller ones? Also, since the ceiling will be silver would you go with a black rod or chain for the pendant?

Featured Answer

calidesign

3 years ago

Without seeing the space or drawings of the entire area, it's hard to say. What other lighting is in the space, and where? In general, for a large expanse, I'd say three pendants. Too many will look busy, and two won't cover that area.

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Comments (18)

Gary
3 years ago

Our Island is 10ft x 5ft and we ended up with 3 pendants and are happy with the layout.
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Uh, where do people's heads go? Or do you have high ceilings, so that the pendants can hang above head height? Remember, over the course of time there will be many different people in that kitchen. There are a lot of people these days who are 6'5", 6'6", even 6'8". And one of the places where people's vision often doesn't see things is right at the level of the top of their heads. Low-hanging light fixtures are seriously dangerous for tall people.
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First you must decide how many pendants of a given size are necessary to cover the entire length of the island you are trying to light. In your case I would lean towards 3, 14" pendants. With that in mind the basic premise is that if you have two pendants you want to divide the total length of your island into two equal sections, if you have three pendants you want to divide the total length of your island into three sections so on and so forth. From there you aim to place one pendant in the middle of each of those sections. If the total length of your island is 120", if you choose to utilize three pendants you will have three sections of 40". The center of one pendant should be placed directly in the middle of the island at 60". The center of each pendant on the sides should be hung approximately 20" in from the outer edges of the island. That will leave a space of 40" between the center of the pendants and 26" between the outer edge of each pendant if you go with 14" pendants. This setup will make the most efficient and effective use of light while covering the entire island. If you need any clarification please don't hesitate to ask. I hope all is well and I look forward to seeing your project because I am certainly not looking forward to our ILLINI play B-Ball these days! This post was edited by SaltLife631 on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 21:50
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I don't know exactly how many you should have, but you might think twice about hanging a pendant over the middle of your island. It will be hard to change the bulbs. We have three pendants over an island roughly the same size as yours, and frankly I wish we didn't. They are a pain in the butt, particularly the one over the middle of the island.
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The ones in the picture are (i believe) from St. James Lighting or Carolina lanterns called 'Gothic Cage'. I have recessed lighting throughout my kitchen already and lots of natural light during the daytime. The lanterns I had previously were 15 inches and were uprights as well and I never had an issue where there was not enough light in the kitchen. My main concern is just size, I am a fan of the larger pendant lights but don't want to get them and have them too large. Thank you for any help!
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lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Three at what size?
Gary
3 years ago
They are about 6-8" diameter.
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you. It is so nice to be able to hear other people's opinions.
calidesign
3 years ago
You could use two or three pendants. Three would line one up with the middle of the cooktop and sink, with two spaced on each side, which I think would look better, but two oversized ones could also work if your ceiling is very tall. The photo above has an elongated style, but you could use wider ones. Be sure to coordinate them with your dining table light fixture.
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Are you saying they need to be the same style as the dining room light?
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi Beverly. All the islands you show look to be around 10 x 5. Do you know the size of the pendants. What do you think about the silver ceiling and the metal of the light fixtures?
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
I have to admit that I have my concerns about the silver ceiling. I hope that the product is not the typical tin ceilings.

If the ceiling needs a feature perhaps a coffered or planked ceiling?????
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Do you not like the island in the first picture?
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago

Lavalle Kitchen · More Info
calidesign
3 years ago
You might also consider silver paint or a molding design on the tray portion rather than the tin look, which would be more updated.
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Brandie May
3 years ago
You could do 3 pendants that are 12-14" in diameter above an island that size. We are also planning a tin look ceiling and have chosen "Vintage Metal" as it looked best with our brushed nickel lighting fixture. I suggest ordering samples in each of the silver finishes so you can visualize how your metals look together. We were surprised with the one that looked best and I might have overlooked the option otherwise.
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
Where are you ordering them from?
Brandie May
3 years ago
We are using a glue up plastic, the brand is Fasade. We got our samples from overstock. But I did see metal samples available on quite a few websites (Lowe's, metalceilingexpress, Etsy, americantinceilings)
lisainkc
Original Author
3 years ago
We ordered samples from American Tin Ceilings.

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