Just like everyone, I was wondering what size pendant lights matches with the kitchen island. There are plenty of pendant light sizes to choose from. It can get very confusing . So i did research and in this post i have shared what i found really helpful.
According to lighting experts, for a small kitchen island (4ft long), the pendant lights should be 3 inches in width, for a medium size kitchen island (6 ft long), the pendant lights should be 4.5 inches in width whereas for large kitchen island with length (7 ft and above), the pendant lights should have a width of at least 5 inches.
The table below shows different kitchen island sizes with the proper size of pendant lights to be placed over the island.
| Kitchen island size | Pendant lights width |
|---|---|
| 4 ft long | 3″ |
| 5 ft long | 3.5″ – 4″ |
| 6 ft long | 4.1″ – 4.5″ inch wide |
| 7 ft long | 5″ |
| 8 ft long | 6″ |
| 9 ft long | 6.2″ – 6.5″ |
| 10 ft long | 6.6″ – 7″ |
| 12 ft long and above | 7″ and above |
Can any size pendant light be used for a particular size kitchen island ?
The simple answer is not always. Depending over the number of pendant lights to be used over kitchen island, there are pendant lights of various sizes that can be used over it.
As per experts, as well as from studies on lighting designs and principles, the light fixtures should be chosen and placed in a way that enhances the look of the area in which light fixture is to be installed as well as fulfill the lighting requirement properly.
So following expert advice, the size of pendant lights should be such that it complements the kitchen island by utilizing the space above it in a proper way i.e the size of pendant lights should not be so big that when placed over kitchen island, together they create uneven spots of light on the island countertop.
Lets understand with the help of an example, if a kitchen island is of 5 ft lenght and if 3 pendant light configuration is to be used over it then if the width of pendant light is 6 inches then the lights would need to be fitted within the same length of 5 feet resulting in less gap between each pendant light.
And if pendant lights of small size were used in the example above, the lights would get packed nicely within the 5 ft length of island while maintaining proper gap between each pendant light.
Proper spacing of pendant lights results in a more uniform spread of light.
Therefore, pendant lights of only that size should be used over a particular kitchen island that helps to maintain proper gap between adjacent lights depending over the number of lights used.
Does height of island decides the size of pendant lights
The height of kitchen island is not a factor to consider while sizing pendant light for kitchen island. The height of kitchen island only determines the placement height of pendant lights from the floor.
The more height a kitchen island has, more is the placement height of pendant lights from the floor.
The size of pendant light is actually depended upon few other factors like lighting requirement over kitchen island as well as the type of look to be achieved for kitchen island lets discuss these two factors.
Other factors that can decide the size of pendant light over island
Lighting requirement over kitchen island
If the kitchen island is such that it does not receiver proper light from the other light sources in the kitchen in that case, the size of pendant lights should be greater than 4.5″. This is because a larger size pendant light can spread light more widely compared to a pendant light of smaller size.
If however the kitchen island receives fair amount of light from the other light sources in the kitchen then the size of pendant lights can be kept smaller i.e. between 3 – 4 inches wide.
The number of pendant lights to be installed over kitchen island
Kitchen island of a particular length can give different look with different number of pendant lights over it. Thus, depending over the number of pendant lights to be used over kitchen island, the size of pendant light also varies.
For instance, if only a single pendant light is used over a kitchen island of 4 ft length, the pendant light should be of bigger size (at least 8″ in width) such that it could properly illuminate the countertop.
And if for same kitchen island, if two pendant lights are to be used then the size of pendant lights would be smaller (i.e. around 5 to 6 inches in width) compared to (8″) in one pendant light configuration.
Similarly as the number of pendant lights increases over the kitchen island the size of pendant lights also decreases accordingly.
Now that we have discussed what’s the proper size of pendant lights over kitchen island of any size, the next thing to take a look is that how many pendant lights should be installed over kitchen island.
Pendant light configuration over kitchen island
When kitchen island is to be illuminated with pendant lights the length of kitchen island plays an important role in determining how many pendant lights should go over it.
Lets discuss each of the lighting configuration in detail.
- When to use single pendant light over kitchen island
A single pendant light can be installed over the kitchen island when the size of kitchen island is atleast less than 5 feet or when only the task area of kitchen island needs illumination and rest of the island is properly illuminated from other light sources.
In a kitchen if there are sufficient recessed lights on the ceiling, chances are that the kitchen island is also getting some illumination. Thus the need to illuminate the entire kitchen island is not there, however the task areas requires more brightness.
Therefore, using only a single pendant light in that case would illuminate the task area properly without making the island look too bright.
- when to use multiple pendant lights over kitchen island
Multiple pendant lights like contemporary pendant lights should be installed over kitchen island when there is no other hanging light fixture like chandelier is used in the kitchen.
Being attached to a single base plate, contemporary pendant lights can only illuminate a narrow area on the kitchen island. Hence, multiple pendant lights can be used on kitchen islands of length 4 to 6 feet) when no proper ceiling lighting is done.
With the hanging light fixtures one can easily use too many of them (Here is a link to the post that explains how many hanging light fixtures are too many)
2 vs 3 pendant lights over kitchen island
When length of the kitchen island is 6 feet or less than 6 ft, a 2 pendant light configuration can be used but provided the width of pendant light should be greater than 5 inches
and if the length of the kitchen island is greater than 6 feet then 2 pendant light configuration should be avoided because in order to make the lighting design proportional the distance between the 2 pendant lights may need to increase which ultimately decreases the required intensity of light over the island.
A 3 pendant light configuration can be used for kitchen island for any length as long as the width of pendant lights complements the length of kitchen island i.e for kitchen island of smaller length, smaller should be the width of pendant lights in 3 pendant configuration whereas for kitchen island of large length, larger should be the width of each pendant lights accordingly.
How to space pendant lights over kitchen island of different sizes
Spacing pendant lights for 4 ft island
When 3 pendant lights are used over kitchen island of 4 ft length, there should be a gap of 10 inches inches between adjacent pendant lights
When 2 pendant lights are used over kitchen island, then a gap of 24 to 26 inches should be kept between two pendant lights. That would provide a symmetrical look as well as would help to illuminate the island countertop properly.
Spacing pendant lights for 5 ft island
For 3 pendant light configuration over kitchen island of 5 ft length, the space between two adjacent pendant lights should be 12 inches.
Whereas if only 2 pendant light configuration is used over 5 ft kitchen island, the gap between between pendant lights should be 28 inches.
Spacing pendant lights for 6 ft island
A 6 ft long kitchen island when illuminated with a 3 pendant light configuration then the space between pendant light should be 14 inches.
This much space would help to cover the entire lenght task area as well as countertop of kitchen island with light.
On the other hand if 2 pendant light configuration is used over 6 ft long kitchen island then the space between the two pendant lights should be around 30 inches.
Spacing pendant lights for 7 ft island
When 3 pendant light configuration is used to illuminate the kitchen island of 7 ft length , the space between each pendant lights should be 16 inches.
It should be noted that the kitchen island of 7 ft lenght is large enough that could reduce the effectiveness of a 2 light configuration for illumination.
Therefore, for large size kitchen island instead of 2 light configuration , 3 pendant light configuration should be preferred as 3 pendant lights covers the area of kitchen island with light properly without leaving any dark areas.
Spacing pendant lights for 8 ft island
The pendant lights should be placed 18 inches apart from each other when a 3 pendant light configuration is used to illuminate 8 ft long kitchen island.
Spacing pendant lights for 9 ft, 10 ft & 12 ft island
For a 9 ft long kitchen island, the space between pendant lights in a 3 light configuration should be 20 inches.
whereas for a 10 ft kitchen island the space between pendant light should be around 22 inches.
For 12 ft ling kitchen island the space between pendant lights in 3 light configuration should be 24 inches.
How bright should the pendant lights be over island
The countertop of kitchen island from all the light sources should get an illumination of 600 lumens.
Now this 600 lumens of brightness can be achieved by either using only one pendant lights or two pendant lights or even with 3 pendant lights.
If only one pendant light is used over the kitchen island then the brightness of that light should be around 600 lumens.
If two pendant lights are used over kitchen island then each of the pendant lights should be 300 lumens bright so that when both of them are installed together over the kitchen island, their combined brightness becomes 600 lumens.
Whereas if three pendant lights are used over kitchen island then each pendant light should be around 200 lumens bright.
What wattage of pendant lights over kitchen island
The wattage for pendant lights over kitchen island should be around 6 – 8 watts.
If there are no other light source in the kitchen then the pendant lights should have a wattage of 8 watts. So that the pendant light can provide 600 lumens to illuminate the task area of kitchen island.
If however there are other light sources already in the kitchen, then the pendant light should have a wattage of around 6 watts so that the lights can provide 400 – 500 lumens of brightness is sufficient to illuminate task area of kitchen
