Choosing The Right Kitchen Island Pendant Light: Plus Budget Pendants
How to choose the right kitchen island pendants & ones that look high end but are actually budget friendly
Is this a sign that we are getting closer to the end of this kitchen renovation?
Probably not honestly 😅
But that won’t stop me from dreaming of our new kitchen island pendant lighting.
Usually I like to make all these decisions at the beginning of a project, I create a design board & add all the lighting, paint colors etc then.
This renovation is a bit different though, I started with a design board, but because it has taken us over a year to complete things have slightly changed as we went along.
Now that we have some major things finally complete its time for us to make some decisions on the kitchen island pendant lighting.
The current pendant lights are not bad honesty, but they are on the small side for the size of our island.
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Plus I am really loving these ones right now!
Depending on how the budget unfolds over the next couple of weeks I may try to DIY mine to look similar, is that crazy 😅
Regardless of what we decide, choosing the right pendant lighting for your kitchen is a big decision & I have some tips for how to make sure you are making the right design choices for your space!
How To Choose The Right Kitchen Pendants
1. Choosing The Right Size Pendant
This is the tricky part for a lot of people because you need to make this decision before you can really start shopping for pendants.
To figure out how many pendants you need & what size they should be, start by measuring your island.
For islands 6′-7′ use 1-2 pendants.
For larger island 3+ pendants will look the best.
Style Tip: Larger pendants can make a kitchen look larger & more grand
2. Spacing Kitchen Island Pendants Correctly
Spacing is super important for achieving the right balance for your island.
Ideally you want to have pendants hung 6″ from the end of your island to the widest part of the pendant.
The spacing between pendants should be 26″-30″.
If you are going to go with just one pendant for your island hand it in the center of island & make sure it takes up no more than 2/3 of the island length.
3. Pendant Hanging Height
Okay so this one is just a general rule of thumb but you need to take into account the height of your family members…
Normally you want to hang pendants 30-36″ up from the island.
If however you have someone that’s on the taller end of the spectrum you can hang pendants closer to 40″ & it still look fine!
Nobody wants to bop their head on light fixtures, it really ruins the whole rooms vibes 😉
4. Choosing The Right Finish & Material
This design choice is merely preference, whatever type of material & finish make your heart happy go for it!
If you are feeling stuck though, a great way to help you decide is to create a mock up of your space & photoshop different pendants in to see what you like best.
I go over an easy way to so it on your phone in this post, it’s the same method I use for designing gallery walls!
Remember that you DON’T have to match the finish of your pendant to the finish of any other hardware in the kitchen.
In fact I think it looks even better when they don’t match, this adds character to the entire space.
Budget Friendly Kitchen Island Pendant Lighting Options
- Modern Wood Bar Pendants 2. Metal Barn Pendant 3. Classic Linen Pendant 4. Rattan Woven Pendant 5. Brass Glass Globe 6. Flower Shaped Pendant 7. Gold Pendant Fixture 8. Glass Globe Pendants 9. Large Handblown 3-Light Pendant 10. 3-Light Island Dome 11. Rodan Hammered Metal Pendant 12. Black Dome Pendant 13. Cadiz Pendant 14. Linen Drum Pendant 15. Matte White Pendant
Those are some of my favorite pendant lighting options that I think will work with any island & home decor style.
Remember at the end of the day these are just a few guidelines to help you if you are feeling stuck.
Do whatever makes your home design heart happy because you are the one living there after all.
Let me know what style pendants are your favorite & if you think I should try to DIY mine or just go ahead & make the swap!
