Pendant Lights for Kitchen Island

Jump To Our Picks

Why us a can light to illuminate your kitchen island when a much more attractive kitchen pendant light option is available? Still capable of lighting the area as well as a can light, these gorgeous hanging kitchen pendant lights are the perfect way to light up your kitchen, with flair and class. Take a look at our collection of kitchen pendant lights for over your island.

18 Recommendations and 185 Ideas

Updated 08/03/2023
Foter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Why trust us?
1
Vintage Spiral Kitchen Island Pendant Lights

Vintage Spiral Kitchen Island Pendant Lights

For a fun twist in the kitchen add dark metal spiral pendants above your kitchen island. The spiral isn’t just eye-catching, but also a fun way to move the light around your kitchen.

The even number of pendant lights creates a symmetrical appearance along with having two or four barstools. If you choose a darker pendant light frame, then go with a light-painted background to show off the vintage spiral design. 

Merchant links are sponsored
2
Wooden Lantern Pendant Lights Over Islands

Wooden Lantern Pendant Lights Over Islands

Wooden lanterns are key in a rustic or farmhouse design. Adding them above your kitchen island is a great way to flaunt their beauty.

Warmer lightbulbs bring a relaxed ambiance while cooler light bulbs create an energetic atmosphere. For taller appearing ceilings, hang your wooden pendant lights farther from your kitchen island. 

Merchant links are sponsored
3
Glass Linear Kitchen Pendant Light Trio

Glass Linear Kitchen Pendant Light Trio

Linear glass pendant lights are versatile and extremely trendy. They easily diffuse light in your kitchen without creating any unwanted shadows. You can find linear glass pendant lights in an assortment of colors.

For a feminine flair, find glass pendant lights that end with curving. Glass pendant lights that end in a full circle create a more masculine sense. 

Merchant links are sponsored
4
Clear Teardrop Kitchen Pendant Lights

Clear Teardrop Kitchen Pendant Lights

Teardrop pendant lights mimic raindrops appearing in nature. If you are naturally inclined, then lights that imitate nature are a brilliant notion for you.

The clear wiring holding the pendants gives the illusion your glass lights are hovering in mid-air. Clear glass pendant lights are perfect for reflecting light off white or light-colored surfaces.

Merchant links are sponsored
5
Geometric Lantern Pendant Lights Over Islands

Geometric Lantern Pendant Lights Over Islands

Geometric lantern pendant lights are best matched with modern-designed homes. The shiny metal lantern frames can be purchased in golds, and bronzes, silvers.

To make your geometric lanterns stand out, paint your cabinets black or white. Matte and monochromatic backdrops permit polished square lanterns to be the main attraction in your kitchen.

Merchant links are sponsored
6
Glass Cylinder Kitchen Pendant Lights

Glass Cylinder Kitchen Pendant Lights

What looks more beautiful than a glass pendant light? A cylinder glass pendant light with multiple glass pieces dangling within it.

Modern and contemporary designers adore cylinder glass pendant lights above light-colored marble countertops. Glass lights and shiny white marbled countertops, make a kitchen seem larger than it truly is. 

Merchant links are sponsored
7
Linear Rectangular Shaded Pendant Light

Linear Rectangular Shaded Pendant Light

Linear rectangular shades balance light more evenly. Your light is directed both up and down rendering it less dramatic compared to shaded pendant lights that point only downwards.

This shade can be made of metal, glass, or soft fabric. Soft fabric shades look more comforting and are better matches to the farmhouse décor style. Metal shades create cooler atmospheres that emphasize industrial and antique styles.

Merchant links are sponsored
8
Long Rectangular Pendant Light Over Islands

Long Rectangular Pendant Light Over Islands

Long rectangular pendant lights look best over longer rectangular kitchen islands. They create a long and focused strip of light, emitting a more formal appearance.

Long rectangular lights keep strict control of your kitchen lighting. These types of pendant lights are great for people who appreciate straightforward lighting without all the bells and whistles.

Merchant links are sponsored
9
Glamorous Ball Pendant Lights Over Islands

Glamorous Ball Pendant Lights Over Islands

House of Hampton®

Smooth and gorgeous, these types of pendant lights are fashioned to cast light throughout a kitchen. Metal circular design patterns and crystal material draw on the glam décor style.

Quartz crystals used in kitchen pendant lights will create a rainbow hue across your room. Larger crystals create a nicer rainbow tint.

$78.99 $101.99

Merchant links are sponsored
10
Weighted and Shaded Kitchen Pendant Lights

Weighted and Shaded Kitchen Pendant Lights

Weighted pendant lights add physics and a tasteful touch of gravity to your kitchen décor. Darker metals are best for industrial and antique decorating styles.

Having the light hidden completely beneath the shade framing will create a much more concentrated light form on your kitchen island. Stage two centerpieces below each pendant light to showcase and attract attention.

Merchant links are sponsored
11
Rustic Kitchen Pendant Hanging Lightbulbs

Rustic Kitchen Pendant Hanging Lightbulbs

Birch Lane™

Hanging these minimalistic rustic pendant lights over your kitchen island is a terrific way to bring calming ambiance to a room. Lightbulbs hanging freely from nylon cord wrapped around a beam a few times is simple and stylish.

A mix of shorter and longer cords creates a flow to a kitchen. These present marvelously over shorter and smaller kitchen islands.

$329.99 $537

Merchant links are sponsored
12
Crisscross Open Box Kitchen Pendant Lights

Crisscross Open Box Kitchen Pendant Lights

Steelside™

Rich warm wood and metal-designed framework add rustic and industrial flair to your kitchen. The open crisscross pattern shadows triangles across your space.

The semi-solid outline and five-lightbulb design add a formal yet welcoming vibe to your kitchen. Odd numbers create an artistic twist, while even-numbered kitchen pendant lights maintain symmetry.

Merchant links are sponsored
13
2 Pendant Lights Over Island

2 Pendant Lights Over Island

Ivy Bronx

Best for: Modern style

What we like: Multiple choices for a custom look

Not great for: Dispersing light over a large area

This cylindrical pendant light fixture is available in four finishes, three colors of shade, and three sizes, giving you the ability to get a style that matches your kitchen design. The drop-down metal rod is adjustable and allows for slope ceiling installation.

$54.21 $61.99

Designer Advice:

Cylindrical pendant lights with straight dimensions are a great choice to go over food prep islands. The shade will direct the light emitting from the bulb straight down onto your workspace versus the light spreading out from a wide dome. When working with food prep, you want the best light exposure but don’t have to forgo a stylish nuance. 

What Users Say:

Comes with various stem pieces to build to the length you want, they swivel and rotate angles.

Merchant links are sponsored
14
Single Bulb Hanging Kitchen Lights Over Island

Single Bulb Hanging Kitchen Lights Over Island

Birch Lane™

Best for: Rustic barn aesthetic

What we like: Mixed material pendant

Not great for: Contemporary or formal settings

This single bulb hanging light pendant suspends from an adjustable height drop rod compatible with sloped ceilings. The faux reclaimed wood frame with metal X-brace sides creates an open cage fixture around a single metal light base for a farmhouse nuance.

$113 $181.2

Designer Advice:

Picking a faux reclaimed barn wood light fixture is an excellent, easy way to get a farmhouse, rustic, country, or vintage primitive nuance without the guilt of real trees. Metal braces add stability and accent the earthiness of the wood structure for mixed material freshness. And it matches the black metal drop-rod that holds the light fixture.

What Users Say:

We would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a modern, yet classic look.

Merchant links are sponsored
15
4 Pendant Lights Over Island

4 Pendant Lights Over Island

Gracie Oaks

Best for: Any size island

What we like: Long fixture with exposed bulbs

This LED-compatible light fixture has four antique brass lamp sockets with open Edison bulbs. The streamlined matte black rectangular frame has two geometric squares for accents and an adjustable height canopy suspended from two thin metal rods.  

$107.99 $124.99

Designer Advice:

Metal over-island kitchen pendant lights offer versatility that goes with all decor, making for a great choice of light fixture to use if you frequently redesign your kitchen. And a pendant fixture with multiple bulbs, like this piece, gives you plenty of lighting for a functional island space, whether for food prep, eating, or conversing. 

What Users Say:

It's understated but still makes an impact.

Merchant links are sponsored
16
Singular Drum Pendant Light Over Island

Singular Drum Pendant Light Over Island

Ebern Designs

Solo pendant lights create a major statement in a kitchen. The frosted glass drum shade surrounding a singular pendant light produces a charming radiance over your kitchen island.

You can find these pendant lights in glass, metal, or wood. Hanging a single drum pendant light over a unique centerpiece is an excellent way to wow your friends.  

$98 $105.99

Merchant links are sponsored
17
Angular shaped Kitchen Pendant Lights

Angular shaped Kitchen Pendant Lights

Odd-shaped pendant lights are an art piece even with the lights turned off. When the light is on the scoop-shaped frame prisms light downwards for an interesting art display on your countertop.

The 45-degree metal framing brings your attention to what is sitting on the kitchen island just beneath it. For a minimalist appeal, leave your kitchen island bare. 

Merchant links are sponsored
18
Chandelier Kitchen Pendant Lights Over Islands

Chandelier Kitchen Pendant Lights Over Islands

Not all chandeliers are made of glass. These wooden and metal mixes are gorgeous in a farmhouse kitchen.

Your eyes are drawn towards the ceiling with these types of pendant lights. However, your awareness stays fastened to the heavy four-sided wood structure. 

Merchant links are sponsored
Jump to More Ideas
Pendant Lights for Kitchen Island

Buying Guide

If you have an island in your kitchen, one of the best ways to make it look even better is to buy some kitchen pendant lights to put over it. These are hanging lights which are positioned above the island to provide light while you are using the island, but also to create a pretty effect and make your kitchen more stylish.

When you start looking for pendant lights to put over your kitchen island, you might be initially overwhelmed by the amount of choice you can see before you. We’ll attempt to cover some of the important issues you should think about before spending any money on pendant lights for your kitchen, including which styles work best for particular homes.

You may want multiple pendant lights over your island in the kitchen, but this might not necessarily be possible. One of the first steps you should take if considering multiple pendant lights is to contact an electrician. A professional electrician will be able to advise you on the electricity supply above your island and whether it is possible to have multiple lights. If you can only have one pendant light, one of the ways around it is to buy a chandelier style set of lights.

If you are able to set up your electricity supply so that you have multiple lights hanging from above your kitchen island, you can either experiment with different styles or play it safe and buy some matching lights in different sizes. If you buy more than two pendant lights for over your island, it’s important that you vary them slightly, even if it’s just the size of them which varies.

The styles of pendant light fall into three categories: round, lantern, and string.

  • Round pendant lights: These circular lights are often the style which springs to mind the most when you think about pendant lights over a kitchen island. They are either spherical or spherical but flattened at the ends, creating a somewhat oval design. Available in a wide range of colors, these are suitable for kitchens which have a lot of square, linear and defined items in the kitchen already.
  • Lantern design: An easily recognizable shape for your kitchen, lantern designs can be ideal for modern homes trying to achieve a minimal look. Made from rose gold or silver wires or beams, they are connected so that you are able to see the light bulb directly from inside the shaped beams. Often in a diamond or triangular shape, they are among the most common, modern and popular pendant lights.
  • String of lights: If you want to opt for something different from the usual individual hanging lights, consider a string of lights instead. This can be attached from the ceiling, or positioned onto two tall pieces of furniture.

Choosing the right style of pendant lights is crucial to either improving the look of your kitchen. Just because one style looks good in one showroom or home doesn’t mean that it will work everywhere. You should consider the colors used already in your kitchen, as well as the style of the furniture that you have e.g. traditional, modern, minimalist, colorful, floral.

Best Ideas

Kitchen pendants lights over island 6

Hanging lamp which will play its role the best in the kitchen, especially above kitchen island. This minimalistic lamp has lampshade made of translucent glass - it looks like covered with water drops.

Clift seeded glass pendants

Clift seeded glass pendants

These pendants are functional products that increase the level of light in the house. They are made of molded glass and steel with a bronze finish. The product is functional, effective and very solid.

Pendants over island

These kitchen pendants lights over the kitchen island are a fabulous set with a glam twist. The glass shades, and a little bit industrial finish create the special atmosphere.

Single pendant light over island

A beautiful kitchen ceiling chandelier constructed of several thin crossed rings outside and an inner stem with a chain of bronze-finished steel. The stem is decorated with lots of dangling glass elements.

Pendant lights over island niche modern bell jar pendant lights

pendant lights over island | Niche Modern Bell Jar Pendant Lights Over a Kitchen Island in this ...

3 light island light 7

These made of hardware lamps are an excellent combination of beautiful and stylish form and functionality. The beautiful colors of the lampshades delight and bring to life a unique style and character.

White kitchen pendant lighting

The lovely kitchen does not have to be boring. This beautifully styled kitchen island with marble countertops, bar stools with tractor seats, impressive lamps and white furniture create a unique interior.

Lights over island

These fabulous kitchen lamps are a combination of steel construction and beautiful glass globe lampshades. The whole is presented in a very stylish and contemporary way, bringing to the interior a sense of style.

Kichler everly 1 light pendant

Kichler everly 1 light pendant

A functional and decorative piece of equipment in the kitchen. This is a pendant mounted on ceiling. It features three light sources and simple, stylish glass construction. It assures the appropriate level of light and it also looks very stylish in any decor.

3 light island light 4

Elegant setup for a traditional kitchen with a combination of classic white hanging cabinets with a darker kitchen island fitted with a purple coat of paint and a slate countertop, which matches the modern kitchen appliances.

Niche modern bell jar pendant lights over a kitchen island

Niche Modern Bell Jar Pendant Lights Over a Kitchen Island in this ...

Kitchen pendants lights over island 9

Espresso cabs with light granite Like the floor color and the lighting over the island.

Kitchen pendants lights over island

White kitchen, corner farmhouse sink, pendant lights, granite, back splash, wood floors.

Kitchen mini pendant lights over island

Kitchen Mini Pendant Lights Over Island

Adelina 1 light Pendant

Clift Seeded Glass Pendants

Clift Seeded Glass Pendants

These pendants are high quality products that provide fair amount of light at night and decorate indoors at day. They are made of solid and good looking glass with a steel and bronze finish. The product is then very solid.

Designed kitchen island with pendant lights bring in a classic

... designed kitchen island with pendant lights bring in a classic appeal

3 light island light 3

New Craftsman Home Photo Shoot - Cedar Hill Farmhouse. This whole house is gorgeous. Love the little "nook" for the breakfast area. Still feels open but I like the separation.

Black mini bar

Bar stool mounted on wooden frame and reinforced with solid supports. Seat and back are upholstered with pleasant to the touch fabric. Suitable for residential and commercial premises.

Vetraio Kitchen Island Pendant

Vetraio Kitchen Island Pendant

Very pretty kitchen chandelier having a bronze-finished iron fixture featuring beautiful scrollwork. It has 2 suspension chains and 3 handmade bell-like shades of glass with warm brown tones. It's for up to 100W bulbs with a standard base.

Clift seeded glass 8 light cluster pendant 1

Clift Seeded Glass 8 Light Cluster Pendant

3 light island light 8

Elegant contemporary over kitchen island pendants having metal frames and glass lampshades. They differ in shapes (e.g. spherical, cylindrical, diamond-like, vase-shaped), colours (e.g. red, milk or clear glass, silver, gold, bluish).

Rustic style kitchen island lighting over white gloss granite top

Rustic Style Kitchen Island Lighting Over White Gloss Granite Top ...

Kitchen pendants lights over island

Light your kitchen dining table or kitchen island decently while enriching the ambiance with appealing industrial hint. This metal cast triple pendant features three lights and attractive vintage design.