Complete Guide: The Ideal Pendant Lamp for the Kitchen!

Have you just moved in and are you starting to install your future lighting for your kitchen? Do you want to choose a pendant light for your kitchen?

Welcome to Ambiance Luminaire , the store specializing in home lighting! Every week, we offer you articles that will help you take your first steps in lighting! Whether it's helping you choose a light fixture based on the architecture of your home or explaining step-by-step the installation of a type of lighting, you'll find everything you need.

Today we will see:

• What is the ideal light fixture for your kitchen ?
• How to choose your pendant light
• How to install pendant lights for kitchens with an island

Let's not waste any more time, here we go!

What Lighting in a Kitchen?

Before looking at the question of the article, you need to review the basics! Indeed, it is possible that the pendant lamps are not the ideal light for your kitchen ! We will see here the preferred lighting fixture . To answer this, we are going to compare the lighting expectations between a kitchen with a low ceiling and a kitchen with a high ceiling !

Low Ceiling Kitchen Lighting

Let's tackle the most common kitchens : kitchens with low ceilings ! For these types of kitchen, it is imperative to choose a chandelier type light fixture ! In fact, the lower the ceiling , the more advantage there is in having light redirected onto the floor . Our industrial chandeliers and other suspended lighting will therefore be the most suitable. If you want to know the other advantages of a bell-shaped chandelier, we cover the subject when we talk about the choosing the right light fixture for a house with a beam!

High Ceiling Kitchen Lighting

Finally, kitchens with high ceilings require wall sconces rather than chandelier-shaped fixtures so that the light is redirected onto the walls and ceiling ! It may also be interesting to have floor lamps or hanging on your walls which will be specific to lighting your culinary preparations .

Which pendant lamp in the kitchen?

So far, we have seen which light fixture to use in relation to the height of its ceiling . You know the benefits of each type of lamp, we can deal with the main problem of our article! By speaking specifically about pendant lighting, you will understand that we are addressing owners of kitchens with low ceilings ! To answer the question, we will see together the ideal height for pendant lights in the kitchen , the type of lighting to provide and how to put several bulbs in your pendant light . Let's go !

What Height of Pendant Light for the Kitchen?

First of all, you should know that the height is calculated, not from the floor, but from the ceiling! For ceilings of 2m40 to 2m60 , i.e. the average height, calculate a height of around thirty centimeters ! In cases where you have an unusual height, you will only have to divide the height of your ceiling by 8 in order to respect the correct ratio . But be aware that a ceiling more than 3 meters high accompanied by a chandelier will provide a very dark atmosphere, like a castle. Therefore, choose wall lamps with upward lighting if you have a great height!

What Type of Lighting for the Kitchen?

As explained previously, lighting fixtures have their own purpose. A wall light provides general lighting and brings light to the entire room while a chandelier will mainly serve to illuminate the floor . In the case of a kitchen, the light will primarily be used to illuminate your kitchen utensils , your dishes ,... in short, the accessories! Therefore, it is not necessarily useful to install lights directed towards the walls in order to reflect the room, at least in the first place. In the majority of cases, simple pendant lights without a bell will be enough to illuminate the room and the kitchen accessories. If you have a large kitchen, you can use a line of pendant lights with 3 or 4 bulbs. However, omnidirectional lighting will undoubtedly be more effective so as not to overload the room!

Pendant Lamp for Kitchen Island

If you have a kitchen island, the strategy will be different! While kitchens without an island require lighting near the walls, as these will be the utilitarian areas, the kitchen table will force you to stay in the middle of the room. This has two impacts:

• You will need to light your kitchen island as a priority
• You will need to light the dishes section separately

For an installation with an island, a pendant lamp will prove almost obligatory ! The use of a bell will depend on your needs. If you have wall lighting in your kitchen, you can use a bell to concentrate all the light on your work table. We talk to you in more detail about installing the bulbs for your pendant light in our article concerning the choice of the pendant light model for your table !

Get our Latest Suspended Lights!

That's it ! We have just seen together the different ways to choose your kitchen lighting! We have seen together which lighting fixtures to choose depending on the height of your ceiling, the importance of directing the lighting downwards in your kitchen and how to calculate the space between each pendant bulb. Now, you have all the keys in hand to choose your first kitchen pendant lights ! Discover our collection of pendant lighting by clicking on the banner just at the end of the article.