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Calculators / Layout

How high should pendants hang over an island?

Put in your ceiling height, the island and the light you like. You'll get the height to hang it, how much cord to leave, and where each one goes.

These are example numbers. Put in yours.

Your kitchen

ft

8 ft 6 in is 8.5.

in

Most islands are 36 in. Bar ledges are 42 in.

in

Your pendants

in

Across the widest part.

in

The shade or body, top to bottom. Not the cord.

pendants

Leave it blank and we pick.

Hang them here

33 in above the counter

Bottom of the shade at 5 ft 9 in off the floor. 3 pendants, 28 in apart on center.

Above counter
33 in
Above floor
69 in= 5 ft 9 in
Cord drop
27 inceiling to top of fixture
Spacing
28 in3 pendants, first 14 in from the end
See pendant lights on Amazon

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hang = 30 + 3 × (9 - 8) = 33, kept to 30 to 36 = 33 in

from floor = 36 + 33 = 69 in

drop = 108 - 69 - 12 = 27 in

spacing = 84 ÷ 3 = 28 in, first one 14 in from the end

Dimmer

Put island pendants on their own dimmer. Bright for chopping, low for dinner.

See LED dimmer switches on Amazon

How we work it out

Lighting showrooms hang island pendants with the bottom 30 to 36 in above the counter. We start at 30 in for an 8 ft ceiling and add 3 in for every foot over that.

hang = 30 + 3 × (ceiling ft - 8), kept between 30 and 36 in

cord drop = ceiling - (counter + hang) - fixture height

For spacing, we split the island into equal parts and hang one in the middle of each. That puts two pendants a quarter of the way in from each end. We aim for about 30 in between centers and keep each shade 6 in from the ends and from the next one.

spacing = island length ÷ number of pendants

This is a guideline. No code sets it, so we won't tell you no. If the ceiling is too low for the fixture or the shades crowd the island, we say so.

Where the numbers come from

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