Our Definitive How-to Guide on Kitchen Pendant Lighting
Whether you're planning or in the midst of a kitchen reno, one of the biggest questions that comes up is what your lighting solutions will be. While we often want our living spaces to reflect our individual personalities, we're often cautious to inject too much personality and character, just in case our character is too bold, or is a trend that may become outdated.
However, we don't want to live in white, sterile spaces either; one solution to this is kitchen pendant lighting. Kitchen pendant lighting allows you to experiment with colours, arrangements and styles, but is easily changeable should you change your mind a few years down the track.
With this in mind, we've created a definitive how-to guide that shows how through clever product choice and arrangement, you can experiment with style and character, but aren't limited in your ability to change things up if you get bored, or if your style changes.
1. Find a style that reflects your character and personality
First things first: find a style that reflects who you are, and what you want the space to be. Kitchen pendant lighting is a low-commitment option, so you can be as creative and imaginative as you want. We recommend creating moodboards through platforms such as Style Sourcebook and Pinterest. This is a fantastic way to visualise the style that you like the most, and how this will manifest in your kitchen. We've included some of our Pinterest moodboards below.
Whether you love industrial vintage, boho coastal, modern farmhouse, art deco, mid-century modern, or a myriad other themes, you can use our moodboards for theme-based inspo, or to get a better idea on how to build and map out a moodboard in order to actualise your dream kitchen.
2. How many lights do you need?
Okay, so you've figured out your style. What next? The next step is to determine how many kitchen pendant lights you will need. You could either go for a single statement pendant, or you could opt for several smaller kitchen pendants, either arranged in a row or in a cluster. When deciding on quantity, installation and arrangement, keep in mind the size, proportions and layout of the space; what will work in one kitchen will not necessarily work in another. Try and choose your lighting in consideration of the pre-existing space, so that it integrates effortlessly into your kitchen, rather than in juxtaposition to it. To give you an idea of the different configuration options, here are some of our pendant lights that we think would inject character into your kitchen lighting space:
Above: Our Bullpit Rod Pendant, available in matt black (pictured), copper and white.
Below: Our Mesh Linear Pendant Light; perfect for couplet or triplet configurations.
3. Consider pendant height
Thinking about the height between your pendant light and the kitchen countertop is probably the last thing on your mind. But it's crucial to take this into consideration in order to ensure that you create a practical and usable space. If the pendant light is hung too low, you risk creating an overwhelming space that won't invite guests to sit down. Similarly, if it's hung too high, the lights may hang disproportionately to the kitchen island, and this can throw the entire room out of balance.
If you're having trouble ascertaining the perfect height, it's never a bad idea to speak with your local electrician to ask their professional advice. Even if you want to swap the pendant lighting out in a few years, it's best to install and fit the pendant lights correctly from the start, in order to maximise their true potential.
We're obsessed with this commercial fit-out at the Vietnamese eatery Hanoi Hannah in Elsternwick, Melbourne. It exemplifies the balance of pendant height and arrangement, thereby ensuring that it creates a warm, welcoming space. It's the perfect inspo for residential and commercial installations alike. Photography is courtesy of @theseasonalstylist.
4. Keep calm and get creative!
Last but certainly not least, don't forget that styling your kitchen lighting is meant to be an enjoyable, creative task; try not to lose sight of this. If you're starting to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, why not step back to one of our earlier steps, such as remaking a moodboard of your ideal space? You shouldn't feel constricted within a style, so if you want to reimagine your earlier plan, then let your creativity run wild with possibilities.
And, don't feel obliged to follow the pack. If you love quirky, idiosyncratic design – embrace it! Trends may come and go; but through kitchen pendant lighting, you can experiment with eccentric and bold styles. Your style, taste and character will evolve over the years, so don't feel pressured to pick one safe style forever. Don't love it in a few years? You can change it up! The sky's the limit, so get shopping.
Got a product or styling question, or just want to pick our brains? Feel free to get in touch via our contact page.
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