Choosing the correct Pendant or chandelier for your island. Pendant lighting has been a major interiors trend for the last couple of years. Providing intimate pools of light that highlight specific spaces in the home can create atmosphere, and be a great tool for zoning your rooms effectively, especially if you are working with an open plan layout. But if you’ve just purchased a pendant light fitting, you might now be puzzling over how best to fit it. Gauging just the right position is key to achieving the look, and there are also various practical considerations to make pendant lighting work. At Lux Lighting, we are experts in all things illumination! Here is our guide to pendant lighting and how to get exactly the right lighting position.
When you’re looking for the perfect pendant light fitting, you need to think about a whole host of factors.
Firstly, what is the purpose of the light – do you need it to give a certain amount of light in order to complete tasks (often the case in a high-function area such as a kitchen island where you prepare food)? Or is it just about achieving the right ambience?
You need to have a clear idea about the height of your ceiling in order to be able to measure the drop of your light accurately. While you might feel that a really low-hanging light will show off the beautiful fitting nicely, it’s important to remember that it will cast a much lower pool of light, and so might not illuminate the space as you’d wish. Additionally, if it’s really low you risk people crashing into it!
It’s a good idea to have your overall room measurements on hand when you go light shopping. Knowing the distances between furniture is also a good plan – allowing you to accurately visualize the space as you shop. This should help you select the correct pendant or chandelier that is the right size for the space, rather than looking too large or too small.
A hanging pendant works well in a low-traffic area. You need to be mindful of having pendants in spaces where people need to move through, especially in the pathways of doors or too near windows.
Is this a dining area where you expect guests to sit around a table talking? Or is this an area where people are busy, moving between standing and seated, or even where children will be running around? These factors will drastically affect whether you want an especially low-hanging light, or whether you need to compromise and go for a fitting that will hang safely out of the reach of small hands or unwary heads! A clearance of 7ft between the floor and the bottom of the light fitting is a good way to start measuring up – all but the very tallest people would easily avoid coming into contact with it.
Each potential space for a pendant light has its own dynamics. The golden rule is that you must remember to consider not just the look of the light fitting itself, but also the way it will cast its light when it is installed. Visualizing this in advance can be easier said than done, so here are some top tips with specific measurements, to give you a concrete guide for fitting your pendants.
The pendant light hung low over the centre of a dining table is a classic look that has become increasingly popular. With echoes of the Danish hygge style, this type of light fitting can create a cosy pool of light around the dining table, bringing your guests into the space for good food and conversation.
However, it’s important to get the proportions right in order to achieve a look that is cosy rather than clumsy. The bottom of the pendant fitting should be at least 75-90cm / 30” from the top of the table, to ensure your dining space can still operate successfully – no one wants to hit their head as they pass the butter! If you are fitting more than one pendant in the arrangement, space them equally so the effect is symmetrical – you don’t want to cast an uneven light. Leaving around 15cm from the edge of the table to the edge of the light fitting should keep things looking proportional too.
Generally, you can follow the same advice as above for chandeliers. But it’s important to remember that a chandelier makes a grand statement, and as a sizeable piece of art as well as a light fitting, it’s that much more important to get the proportions and sizing right. Your chandelier’s width should measure between half and two-thirds the width of the dining table. Any larger and it will dwarf your room.
With kitchen lighting, you can follow similar guidelines to those for dining areas. However, you should be mindful of the differing use of the space – for instance, you are more likely to be standing at the kitchen island and sitting at the dining table, which might prompt a different choice on the lighting front.
Take similar measurements when shopping for pendant lighting for kitchen islands. You should once again ensure that the lowest part of the pendant fitting is at least 75-90cm / 30” above the island top. The base of the light fitting should end up hanging around 72” from the floor.
It’s common to hang multiple lights over a kitchen island. This can look wonderfully stylish, providing the finishing touch to your kitchen area. When installing multiple lights, measure carefully to make the space between the fittings even.
Although it’s an unusual choice, we love the idea of chandeliers in the kitchen! Far from being the below-stairs preserve of the lowly, our kitchens are now usually the centre of the home and are often the place where we want to entertain and splash out on statement pieces. A chandelier placed beautifully above your kitchen island could be just the feature you’ve been looking for.
When installing your chandelier, keep to the same rules as for another lighting. In terms of chandelier width, the diameter of the chandelier should measure between half (1/2) and two-thirds (2/3) of the kitchen island. Central positioning is key – make sure you leave an even amount of space on either side.
While we are most often asked for tips on positioning pendant lighting over tables and islands in kitchen and dining areas, pendant lighting is a trend than can be applied throughout the house.
Pendant lights are often used to great effect in hallways. If you are positioning a light in an entryway, be sure to carefully measure your space so that you aren’t obstructing the flow of traffic between rooms and doors. Keep to the at-least-7-ft-from-the-floor rule strictly here.
Hallways can have particularly high ceilings, and while you need to be thinking about making sure the light isn’t hanging too low, you will also need to add length to your pendant if your ceiling is especially high. Our advice is to add between 6-7cm of length for every extra foot of height above 8ft.
If you are struggling to choose the correct pendant or chandelier, there may be some more flexible options that will help. Perhaps you really crave the super-low style, casting a very intimate light over a defined space – but you are worried the space sometimes needs to be used much more actively, and your low-hanging light will get in the way. We would suggest you browse adjustable-height pendant lights. They aren’t suitable in every context but can provide an excellent compromise in some circumstances.
While it’s important to consider the practical aspects of installing your lighting, and it’s useful to have some rules of thumb to work with, the interior design comes down to personal choice. The most stylish homes are the ones which are decorated individually and with a unique flair. So don’t feel constrained by too many rules when selecting your lighting – if you feel a piece is perfect for your space, go for it!
If you are looking for the perfect pendant light, whether you need to complete your kitchen island or want the ideal dining table light, come to Lux Lighting. With our expansive selection of pendant lights, chosen for their quality and style from some of the biggest names in the lighting world, Lux Lighting is the ultimate destination to assist in finding you the correct pendant or chandelier. Whether you are creating a cosy dining space and want to summon some hygge atmosphere; or you are setting a grand table for entertaining and want to complete the look with a chandelier, Lux Lighting can help you select the right fitting for you.
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LUX Bespoke Lighting Limited
Unit 4a, Riverstown Industrial Estate
Tramore, County Waterford
X91 RK20
051 386488
0877559504
Email : info@luxlighting.ie
