Author: Andra DelMonico

Buying new lighting fixtures is a great way to update a room without putting in a lot of effort. A kitchen island is the center of the room so these kitchen light fixtures are the perfect place to broadcast your personal style.

It’s important to choose the right kitchen island light, scaled in size to fit the room. We have 55 amazing kitchen island pendant lighting ideas to help remove the guesswork in your next kitchen makeover.

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1. Candle Bulbs and Chandeliers

Candle-shaped light bulbs are a popular addition to kitchen island lighting fixtures. They add a warm, ambient glow to the kitchen, especially at night. Chandelier island lighting adds elegance to a traditional kitchen. Hang one large chandelier or two smaller ones over your island.

Although they’re essential in chandeliers, adding candle bulbs is a good way to update any open pendant light fixture. Install a dimmer switch to maximize the impact of these electric candle alternatives.

2. Coastal-Inspired Casual Pendant Lighting

A home with coastal inspired home decor needs casual pendant lighting that fits into the theme. Casual kitchen island lighting ideas include rope, wicker, weathered wood, and other materials that inspire costal visions.

Shop for open basket weave pendants to give an airy, seaside ambience to your kitchen island. They’re available in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, with finishes ranging from whitewash to espresso brown.

3. Conical Kitchen Pendant Lighting

Conical, or cone shapes, are common kitchen fixture design options. From metal lamps to fabric shades, conical is a shape that works in modern or traditional homes alike. Long, tapered cone shapes continue to be a popular choice in midcentury modern home decor.

Metal conical kitchen pendants come in every finish imaginable, including shiny brass and brushed nickel. Powder-coated paint options are also popular, from glossy white to black matte. Cone shaped glass pendant light shades are an elegant kitchen lighting idea.

4. Dome Pendant Lighting for Your Kitchen Island

A rounded, curving, half-ball shape is the hallmark of dome pendant light fixtures. This simplistic kitchen island lighting silhouette merges with most home decor styles and is available in nearly unlimited colors and sizes.

For contrast, look for domes with different finishes inside and out, such as a black exterior and white interior. Having a light color inside the dome helps it reflect more light.

5. Dramatic and Fancy Pendant Lighting

Don’t be afraid to get a little dramatic with your kitchen island lighting ideas. After all, it’s the centerpiece of your kitchen—it should be something fabulous! Fun pendant lighting ideas include installing a group of small hanging light fixtures, such as a dozen small glass pendants at varying heights.

Hang a wide sputnik light fixture to add a midcentury vibe to your modern kitchen island. Or go shabby chic with vintage pendant light fixtures covered in crystal beads. Turn a simple light fitting into something fancy by adding a plaster ceiling medallion to its ceiling insertion point.

6. Cozy Farmhouse Kitchen Island Lighting

A farmhouse kitchen island lighting idea will follow the template for farmhouse style: cozy, casual, or reclaimed. Black metal or wood-beam hanging light fixtures fit comfortably over a farmhouse kitchen island.

Farmhouse island lighting is usually simple in design, and may carry a slightly industrial vibe. Plain metal domes or conical glass shades work equally well for farmhouse or industrial kitchen lighting ideas.

7. Geometric Island Lighting

An assortment of geometric shapes adds dimension to any home interior, and island lighting is no exception. While most islands are rectangular in shape, their accent lighting doesn’t have to mimic this basic outline.

Look for open metal lanterns with hexagonal or triangular shaped frames. You can even find star-shaped pendant lighting to hang over your island. Look for coordinating wall light fixtures to tie together your island lighting and cabinet lighting choices.

8. Open and Airy Glass Pendant Lighting

Glass pendant lighting not only looks elegant, its transparency makes the kitchen look more open and airy. Glass ceiling light fixtures can be clear, frosted, colored, or include bubbles or etching as a textural feature.

It’s nice to replace ordinary bulbs with Edison or other decorative bulbs when they can be seen through glass shades. This is true for island lighting and other task lighting fixtures in the kitchen. If the room includes a ceiling fan, make sure its light bulbs coordinate with the rest of the kitchen lights.

9. Globe-Shaped Kitchen Pendant Lighting

Round, globe shapes abound in home decorating ideas. Orbs are one of the ambient light fixture shapes that truly fit into any decor style.

Round kitchen pendant light fixtures distribute light evenly, making them ideal as a task light for any work you’ll do on the kitchen island. Globe shaped island lighting products aren’t limited to glass shades. Round wicker, metal, and fabric options should also be considered.

10. Rugged and Stylish Industrial Kitchen Island Lighting

Industrial ambient lighting is often made of distressed wood or dark-toned metals. An industrial kitchen island pendant may incorporate wire cages, open geometric shapes, and exposed bulbs.

Pair industrial kitchen island lighting with recessed light fixtures for balanced kitchen light distribution. Note that contractors often want to install more recessed lighting fixtures than you need, so have your task lighting needs clearly mapped out before installation begins.

11. Simplicity in Pendant Lighting

Minimalism requires its adherents to keep all things simple. When this comes to island pendant light selections, only the most basic lines and shapes will do. Beading or other embellishments are shunned for simplicity’s sake. 

Track lighting can be a good choice if you want to keep your light sources understated. If you use simple track lights for your minimalist kitchen lighting, aiming certain bulbs at specific work stations makes it double as task lighting.

12. Modern Kitchen Island Pendant Lighting

Modern island pendant light fixtures are often imaginative in their simplicity. A row of narrow black cylinder lights can multitask as both lighting and a work of art when displayed appropriately.

It’s also OK to take modern kitchen island lighting in a direction that makes it less predominant. A row of recessed can light fixtures will beautifully illuminate the island without the need for extraneous decor.

13. Colorful and Whimsical Kitchen Island Lighting

Novel approaches to kitchen island lighting include colorful or whimsical fixtures. Hang a cluster of pink glass orbs over the island for a bubble gum vibe, or look for chandeliers covered in with feather or petal-shaped pieces of glass.

Long, rectangular light fixtures look great over kitchen islands. Options include a rustic beam entwined with Edison bulbs on thick cords, and a tray-shaped metal fixture with irregular-height candlelike lights on top.

14. Go Big with Kitchen Island Lighting

A common mistake when choosing kitchen island lighting is to go too small. When considering your kitchen lighting ideas, bigger is usually better. This is especially true if you have an exceptionally large island, 12 feet or more in length.

Shop for long and wide hanging light bars, or a series of pendants that measure at least 12 to 15 inches in diameter. Remember that the light fixture is the “centerpiece” of the kitchen island, so it’s fine if it makes a bigger statement than you’re accustomed to seeing.

15. Vintage Island Lighting: Retro Charm for Your Kitchen

If your kitchen decor has a strong retro aesthetic, you have two options for vintage island lighting. Raid antique stores—and your grandmother’s attic—for genuine vintage kitchen light fixtures, or shop for new pieces that carry a strong vintage vibe.

Look for distressed paint finishes and metal with natural-looking patina. Hand blown glass shades that incorporate bubbles or wavy patterns also look like those made in years gone by. 

Kitchen islands are more popular than ever, with more homeowners adding these separate countertop spaces to their kitchens. Once you have the kitchen island, you need to figure out the rest of it. This includes adding the right amount of lighting. The lighting over your kitchen island is necessary for illuminating your kitchen and adding enough illumination to create a functional workspace. Check out these creative kitchen island lighting ideas for your kitchen.

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1. Balancing Your Kitchen’s Aesthetic with Three Light Fixtures

Adding three light fixtures over your kitchen island follows a classic design rule. Kitchen islands are located in the center of your kitchen, so your island lighting is going to be a focal point in the room. Because of this, having the wrong number of lights or lights that are incorrectly spaced will throw off the entire kitchen’s balance.

Three lights is an odd number that helps to break up the space. When you choose two or four lights, any slight mismeasurement will be glaringly obvious.

2. Optimizing Lighting for Low Ceilings

You need to consider a lighting option other than pendant lights if you have a low ceiling. However, you can’t just have a general flush mount fixture that creates ambient lighting. You need directed task lighting. Recessed lighting is installed into the ceiling, so the lights are sunk into holes and then shine a light directly below.

Another popular kitchen lighting idea is to use track lighting. This style of ceiling lights works well as island lighting because you can move the lights around and direct them to where you need them. Be careful when choosing your light fixture, as track lights can look dated.

3. Elevating Traditional Kitchens with Chandelier Lighting

Consider hanging a chandelier or two over your kitchen island if your kitchen design is more traditional. Look at decorating ideas that show you how to successfully use a chandelier in your kitchen.

If you can readily see the dining room from the kitchen, then consider mounting a more elegant design that coordinates with the chandelier in your dining room. However, not all chandeliers are traditional or ornate. If you have simple and modern wall decor, you could add a chandelier to match.

4. Choosing Glass Pendant Lights

Glass pendants give your kitchen island an elegant look. Depending on the style of the glass shade, your pendant lights could complement the rest of the design in the kitchen. Clear glass in a simple geometric shape will look modern.

Glass that’s a blue or green shade can mimic sea glass, giving your kitchen a coastal feel. Hand-blown glass shades will provide your kitchen with a bohemian feel. Stained glass shades will have a traditional feel. Consider the amount of light that your glass shade will diffuse. Colored and opaque glass will block more light than clear glass.

5. The Classic Appeal of Pendant Lighting

Pendant lighting is the classic hanging light solution. What is nice about these lights is that they create a strong directed light right where you need it. Because they hang down lower than ceiling height, they create a stronger light on the countertop. They also add a focal point to the kitchen because they typically hang out in front in the middle of the kitchen.

When choosing your pendants, consider size and scale. You don’t want oversized pendants that will overpower the kitchen. You also don’t want small pendants that get lost in an oversized kitchen.

6. Authentic Industrial Style with Salvaged Lighting Options

If you have an industrial kitchen, then you need lighting to match. Not only will you add overhead lighting, but you can also add decorative cabinet lighting. Just like the other cabinets in your kitchen, you can add cabinet lighting to your kitchen island. Add LED strip lights to the cabinet’s underside to illuminate the kick plate. Or add lighting along the countertop edge for a soft glow that will illuminate the kitchen when you need a late-night snack.

Consider also having lighting that looks commercial. It could have a metal cage over the light bulbs. For a curated and authentic look, you could use salvaged or reclaimed lights that are pulled from a commercial building.

7. Modern Lighting for Your Kitchen

Complete the look in your modern kitchen by replacing old and tired lights with innovative tech lighting. It should have modern LED light bulbs that produce a bright white natural light. For the fixture, look for a clean and simple design with minimal ornamentation. Typically, the lights are black, but you can also find modern lights that are brush gold or silver.

Modern lights can also use a mixture of materials. They could have smooth, polished wood elements that are paired with sleek metal elements. You’ll find options that feature long straight lines and sharp 90-degree corners and others that feature curved lines.

8. Embracing the Farmhouse Aesthetic with Rustic Lighting Fixtures

Rustic lights may look like rough and tumble kitchen lighting fixtures, but they have all of the modern technology to make them safe for installation in a modern kitchen. Wooden box lights are popular for a rustic or farmhouse look. Another option is to hang black metal fixtures that mimic the look of cast iron.

A third popular option is to hang a log from chains with lighting cables that each supports a single bulb. Look for fixtures that are imperfect. They could be handmade or just look handmade. Perhaps they have a weathered look as if they are aged.

9. Combining Classic and Modern with Traditional Wall Lighting

If you love the traditional look, then consider adding wall lights. These lighting fixtures get mounted on the wall instead of from the ceiling. They tend to be smaller, with only one or two bulbs. They don’t typically produce a lot of light but are perfect for creating a traditional style.

It’s helpful to use traditional lighting styles in addition to modern ones. This gives you more flexibility in how you use your kitchen lights, such as turning on additional lights when you need a bit more light or turning them off when you don’t.

10. Personalizing Your Kitchen with Unique Lighting Choices

If you have a new kitchen or are remodeling your old kitchen, this is your chance to choose unique lighting that reflects your taste and personality. While you could follow lighting trends, this may not suit your style.

Perhaps you’d like to have a ceiling fan that can circulate air and also has a light on it. You could choose a light fixture that matches the rest of your kitchen and home decor. This is also your chance to add accent lighting. This is lighting that highlights the unique features of your kitchen.

11. Choosing Easy-to-Clean White Lighting for Practical Kitchens

White lights are good because you can install them in almost any kitchen, no matter their size or ceiling height. This ensures you have adequate light in a large or small kitchen. Choose a light fixture that is bright white.

Pay attention to the finish, as it needs to be easy to clean. A kitchen is a messy place, where grease can become airborne and will settle on the surfaces in your kitchen. White gets dirty quickly, so you need to be able to quickly and easily clean them.