Guide to Pendant Lights Over Kitchen Island (Height, Spacing, and More!)

Ideal Height for Pendant Lights Over Island

The ideal height for pendant lights is 30”-36” from the countertop.

With higher ceilings, you will find that hanging higher is better at 34”-36” above the countertop. While lower ceilings, 8’ or shorter, hanging lower at roughly 30”-32” above the countertop will be the sweet spot for you.

The absolute best way to get a visual is to have the nearest person take a picture of you holding the pendant light at these varying heights. Start at 30” above the countertop, then do 36”. Which one do you like better?

In the end, an inch or two is not going to change the look and feel all too much. But 6” will, so that’s why it’s good to start with the opposite ends of the spectrum depending on your ceiling height.

My pendant lights shown in the pictures are 31” up from the countertop and we have 8’ ceilings.

Keep in mind the varying heights of those that you live with. My husband is 6’1” and with our pendant lights hanging 31” from the countertop, he’s pretty much at eye level with the bottom of the pendants. While at the sink, he’s still able to look down into the next room. Any lower and they would completely obstruct his view.

Just be wary of this so everyone in the house can see. 😊

The height guideline is the only one I see as less flexible than others because this range will look the best, regardless of your situation.

Small vs. Large Pendants

Going into the next few sections, it will be helpful to know the difference between small and large pendants.

A small pendant light would be considered anything under 10” in width and height, such as the bell look.

A large pendant light would account for anything greater than 10” in width and height, such as the popular lantern-style pendants.

Ideal Spacing Between Pendant Lights Over Island

A general rule of thumb is 30 inches apart from the edge of one pendant to the other.

My personal rule of thumb is at least 30 inches apart for 2 pendant lights, and at least 24 inches apart for 3 pendant lights.

The longer your island is, the further you can space them out. The shorter your island is, the closer you can bring them together. Just remember, you never want pendants to be too close, as this can look crowded. On the flip side, you don’t want them to be too far apart or they will look awkwardly spaced.

In reality, as long as your measurements are within several inches of those numbers, you really can’t go wrong. In fact, my pendants are 18” apart and they look perfect in my space!  I’ll give more details about my kitchen near the end of the post and why this works, so stick around. 😊

Just to reiterate, a general rule of thumb here – you gotta do what you gotta do! You can definitely be flexible on the spacing.

In any situation, 2 pendant lights should be equidistant from the center of the island. 3 pendant lights should have the middle pendant centered on the island, and the 2 edge pendants equidistant from the middle pendant.

How far from the edge of my kitchen island should pendant lights be placed?

Ensure that the edges of your pendants are at least 6” from the sides of the kitchen island, and no more than 18”.

Measurement to see if your pendant lights will work with your island size

Use this simple equation to figure out if your pendant lights will work with your island size:

For example, if your pendant lights were each 24” wide, your equation would be (12+30+48) and you’d get 90”.

This means that your island needs to be at least 90” long in order to have two 24” pendant lights.

Try it with the different pendant light options you have picked out, and as long as the number you get is smaller than the length of your island, you’re in the clear!

For example, if your pendant lights were each 9″ wide, your equation would be (12+48+27) and you’d get 87”.

This means that your island needs to be at least 87” long in order to have three 9” pendant lights.

If you are a couple of inches off, don’t get too worried about it!

How big should pendant lights be over your kitchen island?

My take on this is that it should really be about the space you’re working with, so this question is a little bit more personalized for every situation.

If you have a smaller space, it may look better to do smaller pendant lights.

Take my kitchen for example. I have 8’ ceilings, and while I have created an open feeling to our kitchen, it is still not a large open space. I ended up going with three 9.5” pendant lights.

Having large pendant lights over the kitchen island in a small space will quickly make your kitchen feel overcrowded.

On the other hand, if your kitchen has lots of space and an open layout, I would recommend going with large pendants to avoid the small pendants getting swallowed up in the large space.

Take into Consideration

If your pendant lights are closed, such as the metal bell shape, this is going to add a little weight to your space. As compared to an open concept like the lantern-style pendant lights that you can see straight through.

I went with the bell shape because I truly loved the look and wanted to incorporate more copper accents in the kitchen. But if I were to do it again, I would most likely go with an open concept such as an all-glass or a frame look because I do like how little they fill up the space above your island.

How many pendant lights should I go with over my kitchen island?

This question is dependent on the size of the pendants you are using, as well as the size of the countertop underneath the pendant lights.

I typically would suggest 2 large pendant lights unless you have a smaller kitchen island. Even if you have an extra long island, you can find very beautiful, very large pendant lights to accommodate.

An island 50”-60” could still have 2 smaller pendants roughly 24”-30” apart.

If you’re going for more light, having 3 smaller pendants as opposed to 2 may be better for you.

These different scenarios should bring home the point that it is truly up to you how many pendant lights you choose in your space. As long as you are somewhat close to the guidelines, and it looks right with your space, then go for it!

Is your island less than 50”?

I would suggest going with a flush mount or recessed lighting instead.

I have an island that is 50” long and chose to go with one recessed light above, mainly because I have such a small space, and we already wanted to do pendant lights over the peninsula. It would have been pendant light overload!

Should my pendant lights match the hardware in my kitchen?

First ask yourself, “Do I like a more uniform look?” or “Am I up for mixing metals?”

Mixing metals is a very popular look throughout homes and a great way to bring interest to a room. In fact, we’ve mixed metals in all of our bathrooms, as well as the kitchen.

You can use color to accent the rest of your kitchen. This is one of the best techniques for styling a kitchen, especially if you want to make an all-white kitchen a little less boring.

I feel that having mixed metals provides more personality to a space and will always recommend it. Don’t be afraid to play with color!

Alternatives to Pendant Lights

After reading this post, you may have determined your island isn’t a good candidate for pendant lights. Don’t worry, because several other beautiful lighting options may work better for your space!

Good candidates for an alternative route would be those with an island under 50” and/or small kitchens that you don’t want to overcrowd.

Flush Mount

A flush mount is a light that typically hangs down from the ceiling only several inches. It keeps the light up and out of the way, while still giving options for adding a unique style to your kitchen.

Here are some of my favorites I found on Amazon:

Recessed Lighting

Recessed lights are best when you don’t want any distractions, just light.

I had a contractor come and install 5 recessed lights in our kitchen: 1 over the island, and 1 in every corner of the kitchen. Before this, we had a single flush mount light that essentially didn’t provide any helpful light.

The newer recessed lights are LED, able to flip between multiple color temperatures depending on your liking, and are very thin so they can fit in any situation.

These are the ones I have, and they make the kitchen bright! Absolutely love them.

My Kitchen (Advice on Unique Situations with Pendant Lights)

I used to have a half wall as opposed to the peninsula with bar-style seating. Pendant lights would have not worked with the old setup. Our sink was never truly centered and I wanted to have 3 pendant lights.

So where do you hang pendant lights? Our contractor had great advice for this predicament.

Instead of centering the pendant lights based on the length of the island, they said it’s best to center them based on the sink. At first, I was not okay with this idea lol.

But after holding them in place, I saw the vision and realized this would look better than having the pendants off-centered from the sink. The pendant lights would have looked out of place.

Once installed, I fell in love! Moral of the story: if you are in an odd predicament, don’t be afraid to stray away from the guidelines. Especially if you have an off-centered sink on a peninsula like I did, centering on the sink may work better in your situation.

Pendant lights over the kitchen island are a beautiful way to turn your kitchen into an inviting place full of light and character.

Now that you know the height, spacing, and what size pendant lights to use over your island or peninsula, you’re ready to install!