Lighting Fixtures to Complete Your Kitchen Island

So you have this gorgeous kitchen island, complete with all the amenities you could ask for; from powerful burners to a state-of-the-art mini-fridge. You’ve got everything you need in one compact, practical package. But if you haven’t chosen a lighting solution for your kitchen island yet, then the image is not complete. The right lighting fixture is one of the most important features of your kitchen island in terms of style and functionality.

Homeowners and designers alike experiment with their kitchen lighting. Since the one that will service your island is not the main lighting fixture in the kitchen, you have more freedom in your decision-making. Whether you are fully remodeling your kitchen, updating some of its features, or simply looking for a change of pace, the right pendant can be the cherry on top, and there are a lot of options to choose from.

Fixture Types

While there are no restrictions on what kind of kitchen island lighting fixtures you can use, there are a few which are work particularly well with this kitchen layout. 

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Pendant 

Pendant lights are by far the most popular choice when it comes to kitchen island lighting. They offer concentrated illumination for a specific area of the kitchen when you need light on the island itself, but not the rest of the room. Uhum, midnight snacks, anyone?

Chandelier 

Sometimes you just want to go all out and the chandelier perfectly embodies that statement. Not only is it a glamorous addition to your kitchen, but it can also be very practical. Depending on its design, a single chandelier can light up even the widest kitchen spaces, though using a smaller one to light up the kitchen island can also work wonders.

Recessed

For more subtle lighting that can light up the entire room and not just the kitchen island, recessed lights are an effective choice. They may not be very glamorous or look particularly luxurious, but they are practical, convey a clean and modern vibe, and will surely get the job done. 

Track Lights

The spotlight is on you and your kitchen island. Track lights allow you to change the direction of your lighting whenever you want, giving you more control over the illumination in your kitchen. Concentrate the light on the kitchen island and you have yourself very flexible and personalized lighting. 

Kitchen Island Lighting Styles and Designs

Kitchen island lighting ideas go far beyond mere fixture types. There are so many styles and designs to choose from that your head might spin at all the options. But as design goes nowadays, it’s all about it reflecting your personal styles, comfort zones, or better yet, your imagination. 

Contemporary, Formless, and Cheerful

Sleek and Modern Freeform Light Fixtures

Freeform fixtures and design features are very popular in contemporary interiors. This idea also extends to lighting. Modern light fixtures go beyond the typical cylinders, tubes, and squares. They take all kinds of forms and sometimes take no form at all.

Freeform light fixtures allow you to gently accentuate a sleek modern interior. Having it made of brighter, more shiny material than the rest of the interior allows the light fixture to pop and add character to your kitchen. 

Simple Tracking Lights

Light Up Your Kitchen Stage With Spotlight

Simplicity and utilitarianism are very prominent factors of interior design. Less can be more and that is the case with a simple row of tracking lights. They don’t need to be anything overly complicated. The key here is functionality and that is what tracking lights excel at. A matte black finish gives them a very modern and minimalistic feel and the ability to move each spotlight makes tracking lights both stylish and customizable.

Geometric Pendant Frame

Work In More Geometry Into Your Interior With These Lighting Fixtures

We’re used to seeing spherical and round pendant lights but who is to say that they can’t be rectangular? Angular geometric pendant lights are also quite popular with homeowners looking for a contemporary interior.

Even with a simple geometric frame free of any complicated glass shades, pendant lights can look amazing when paired with a modern interior. Just do your best to choose a material that corresponds or accentuates the rest of the interior without seeming too out of place.

Recessed Platform Mount

Alternative Lighting Ideas That Work In Modern Kitchens

A hanging rectangular platform lighting fixture above the island kitchen is a relatively recent design trend. Glass shades around the fixture allow it to disperse even more light around the room without blinding those sitting around the kitchen island.

Additionally, this extra bit of surface area can work great as an island floating shelf. You can even incorporate the kitchen island burner hood into the lighting mount to bring all these features together for a more multifunctional kitchen.

Classic Pendants

Pendant Lights for a Classy Kitchen

It’s hard to beat the classics and nothing proves that more than the gorgeous glass pendants we’ve all come to know and love. Modern classic kitchens are a blend of everything we love about more traditional interiors paired with minimalist and practical design features. 

Having classic pendants contrasting the more minimal surroundings helps create more heterogeneity in the room. It’s hard to go wrong with the classic round pendants which have stood the test of time as interior features and are in wide use to this day. 

Stage Light Spotlights

Metallic Pendants For Contemporary Kitchens

The spotlight is on you as you eat, drink, or relax at your kitchen island. Pendant lights come in many shapes and sizes, but one interesting design you can implement is making them look like stage lights. If you feel as though your kitchen is too bright and there is an overwhelming amount of white, these matte black fixtures can serve nicely to mellow the atmosphere. 

Decorative Bulbs

The Beauty Is Transparent With Simple Lighting Fixtures

Shades are so overrated. No, they are not, but they are not a necessity. You can easily make your kitchen look gorgeous with nothing more than light bulbs hanging from the ceiling without any shades. The one problem you may face with this aesthetic decision is that light bulbs are a little hard to see without shades to give them some color.

This is why it is recommended to install more than three above the kitchen island so that the greater number of bulbs will give your lighting more efficiency. The decorative bulbs are just subtle enough not to be overpowering but are still capable of accentuating a loft or Scandinavian aesthetic.

Futuristic Track Fixture

Take Your Kitchen Into the Future With These Track Lights

Straight tracking LED lights can be installed for that sleek, contemporary appeal. They are very luminescent and can be easily adjusted to your liking in terms of brightness and positioning. Tracking fixtures offer a lot of room to get creative as well. 

But what makes them so much more appealing than the traditional spotlight shape is how they look futuristic, perfectly accentuating any modern or contemporary edge you want to give off in the kitchen. 

Solemn and Rectangular

Rectangular Pendant Lighting for a Multifunctional Kitchen

Another interesting take on pendant lighting is the rectangular box-shaped fixture. These angular pendants go well with more classical or modern classic interiors. The rectangular form of the light fixture echoes the island below creating a match made in heaven for the perfectionists. The iron frame pairs nicely with wooden kitchen furniture and the glass shade helps spread a soft light all around the room without completely flooding it with light. 

Backsplash Lights

Convenience and Personalization All With Recessed Backlights

Recessed lights are the definition of subtlety. They are all about providing the room with plenty of light but staying almost completely out of sight. The benefit of this kind of lighting is that it is visually less invasive when compared to more obvious lighting fixtures which sometimes feel as though they are always in your face.

What you can do to take this subtle lighting to the next level is install it in the recesses of the room (ie. against your backsplashes) rather than directly above the island. This subtle nuance illuminates the island but does not to the point where the light is blinding.

Rustic Chandelier

Rustic Kitchen Lighting for Maximum Coziness

Let’s finish off with a more traditional, matte black chandelier that works perfectly in a rustic interior. With wooden and stone ceilings, it is hard to imagine any other lighting fixture that would work better than a big, attention-grabbing chandelier. 

In typical cottage or rustic interiors, you would see the chandelier made out of more classic materials, such as wrought iron, brass, or even wood. Some homeowners decide to add a tinge of modernity by finishing the chandelier off with a smooth, matte finish. 

Pendant Light Installation Tips

Four Easy Steps to Installing Pendant Lights

Pendant lights are luckily very easy to install even if you are not a trained electrician. While it is recommended to have some experience working with wiring, the installation is still very intuitive and you should be able to figure out the nuances as you go along. 

Turn off the fuse before you get to work. This is the most important safety measure you need to take to ensure that you don’t hurt yourself during the installation.

Locate the fixture hole that has three wires coming out of it. Two of the wires are for power and the third one is for electrical grounding. Ensure that the wires are working properly using a multimeter.

Use the mounting bracket provided by the manufacturer, as this will be the one to fit your lighting fixture perfectly. You may have a different spare one that could work, but it’s best to avoid experimenting when it comes to fixing lighting fixtures into place. 

Tie the wires by twisting the bare ends around each other, leaving a bit of extra room at the tips. Twist the extra bits of wiring together and cover them with the plastic cap. Ensure that there is no bare wiring to avoid short-circuiting the fixture.