How-to Determine the Right Size and Height for Kitchen Pendants
3 Materials
15 Minutes
Easy
Are you wondering how high to hang your kitchen pendant lights over your island? Or want to know how large of a light to hang over your kitchen island? Here is an easy way to figure it out!
Step 1: Measure Island Width
- Measure the total width of the kitchen island and write it down on a piece of paper. Mine is 5ft. wide.
Step 2: Measure Island Length
- Measure the total length of the kitchen island and write it down on the same paper. Mine is 8ft. long.
Step 3: Determine Pendant Size Options
- Use these measurements to find a pendant light that is to the correct scale of your kitchen island.
- It's best to draw out the size of the island on a piece of graph paper to get a general ideal of scale and then draw the pendants.
- A basic rule of thumb is to use approximately 25% of the length of the island to find the right sized pendant.
- My island is 8ft or 96 inches long. I searched for a 24 inch / 2 ft diameter or square pendant.
- If you have a 5ft or 60 inch long island, and ideal pendant would be no larger than a 15 inch diameter or square pendant.
- Here is an example using a 5ft island by 3ft and due to the narrow 3ft width, I chose a 12 inch diameter pendant.
Step 4: Test Size of Pendant Using Wrapping Paper
- This is the truly fool proof way to test the size visually in your kitchen. Lay a cutout of the size on your actual island.
- Now if you are renovating or building, use painter's tape to layout the island on the floor and place the cut outs to get an idea of scale.
- I love using grid backed wrapping paper for these tests. Just mark the size of the pendant (even if it is round you can use a square to test cutout).
- Cut out the paper to size.
Lay on the island or island area and look at how it fits on the width.
Then see how it looks on the longest side.
- Make sure you have enough room all the way around the edges of the island.
- TIP: Hang the pendant about 8 to 12 inches in from each end of the island, so they don't hang too close to the end.
Step 5: Determine Hanging Width of Pendants
- How far apart you hang the pendants apart can vary.
- Typically you will hang them somewhere between 24 inches to 30 inches apart depending on the total length of your island.
- My pendants are hung just over 24 inches apart and set in 12 inches in from the edge of the ends of the island.
Step 6: Determine Hanging Height of Pendants
- The truth is to determine the height to hang a pendant light you need to start with the measurement from the floor!
- MOST island counters are typically 36 inches from the floor.
- However, that is the least important measurement but instead just used to add to the total height.
- The reality you want to hang a pendant light high enough off of the FLOOR, so when a person stands at the island they don't look directly into the light bulbs of the fixture.
- Typically, kitchen pendant lights (at their lowest point) are hung about 32 inches to 36 inches above the counter.
- CRITICAL you need to take the total measurement from the floor. That means to the bottom of the pendant.
- The ideal height is about 69 to 72 inches from the floor to the base of the pendant.
- You want to avoid people looking into the light bulbs. I have 10ft ceilings and went up the full 6ft or 72 inches.
Here is an example using the smaller island, smaller pendants, and only a 9 ft ceiling.
- These kitchen pendants are dropped down 3 inches, but are cone pendants so the bulb is up inside of the shade.
- Different shapes and sizes will look better over larger and smaller islands.
- Open concept homes and larger kitchens can accommodate larger pendants.
- If you have an enclosed kitchen, a smaller pendant may look better in the space so it doesn't consume too much visual space.
- An open lantern or modern arm style pendant will block the least amount of visual space in any kitchen.
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Comments
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3 of 4 comments
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Excellent tutorial! I have a 10x10' ish kitchen and am knocking down a non-support wall against the current 4x3' island. I'm creating an open floor plan and putting in a 5x5' plus 10" for knees for stools. Appreciate your help using 9' ceilings, as most new homes are 10'+.
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I have 8ft ceilings and a 5ft island I was thinking of purchasing 15" diameter pendants globes hung at the 40" height because my son is taller. Is that an appropiate size?
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