Pendant Lights

Pendant lighting is the most flexible thing you can put on a ceiling. One fitting hangs from one point, so it lights what is underneath it rather than the whole room, and that makes it work over an island, over a table, in a hall or either side of a bed. Our range runs to over a thousand pendant ceiling lights, in glass, black, brass, gold and natural materials.

What is a pendant light?

A pendant light is an individual light fitting hanging from the ceiling on a rod, a chain or a cable. It can be used in any room. Our range includes every style: modern, country, art deco and retro, from simple to ornate, with finishes from brass and copper through satin silver and chrome to plain and patterned fabric.

What separates a pendant light fitting from a centre fitting is where the light goes. A pendant throws its light down in a defined pool. A centre fitting spreads its lamps outwards and lights the room evenly. That is why a pendant works over a specific spot and a centre fitting works for a whole room.

What are the main types of pendant lights?

• LED pendant light – energy efficient, with the LED built into the fitting. Around one in five of our pendants is built-in LED.
• Glass pendant – used mostly over islands, peninsulas and tables. Clear, opal, frosted, ribbed, smoked and amber.
• Fabric pendant – for living, dining and bedrooms. Linen, cotton and organza, plain or decorated, some with decorative metal.
• Cage pendant – a retro and industrial look, in antique brass, bronze, black or gold.
• Modern pendant – clean, sleek and contemporary, usually metal with an opal or ribbed diffuser.
• Rustic pendant – ribbed or marbled glass, or wood and rattan, for a country setting.
• Crystal pendant – for a living room or bedroom where you want the sparkle. See our crystal pendants.
• Antique pendant – for a more vintage, homely look.
• Rise and fall pendant – height adjustable after installation. A small part of the range, but the answer if you cannot commit to a drop length.

Pendant lights over a kitchen island

This is what most people are buying pendants for. Kitchen island pendant lighting has to do a real job, because an island is a work surface before it is anything else, so the light has to land on the counter without glare in the eyes of whoever is standing at it.

Three rules cover most kitchens.

• Height. Hang pendant lights over an island so the bottom sits 75 to 90cm above the worktop. Higher and the light spreads too thin, lower and you are looking into the lamp across the counter.
• Number and spacing. Two pendants for an island up to 1.8m, three for anything longer. Space them evenly along the island and keep the outer two in from the ends by about 30cm rather than at the very edges.
• Shade shape. For island pendant lights choose an opaque or metal shade that pushes the light straight down. Clear glass looks better unlit but scatters light and puts the bare lamp at eye level.

Kitchen pendant lighting over a breakfast bar follows the same rules, usually with two fittings rather than three. If you are looking for kitchen pendant light fixtures with a shorter drop, check the maximum and minimum cable length on the product page before ordering. See our over island and table lighting and the full kitchen lighting range.

What light will work above my dining table?

Choose a light with opaque sides so it shines from the bottom only, and hang it low enough that it does not shine into your face while you are eating. Leave 80cm to 100cm between the table top and the bottom of the fitting.

A single wide pendant suits a round table. For a long rectangular table, a dining table pendant light works better as two or three matching fittings spaced along it, or as one linear bar fitting. Centre the light over the table rather than the middle of the room, which matters if the table is not centred.

See our dining room lighting range.

Pendant lights room by room

Living rooms. A living room pendant light is usually not the only light in the room. Use one over a coffee table or a corner, and keep something else on the walls or on a table for the rest. Fabric shades are the safer choice here, because a bare lamp at seated eye level is uncomfortable. See living and sitting room lighting.

Hallways. A hallway pendant light is seen from below and often from the stairs, so the underside of the fitting matters. In a hall with normal ceiling height keep the drop short. In a stairwell a long drop or a cluster pendant fills the height properly. See our hallway lighting and stairwell lighting.

Bedrooms. Hanging a single pendant either side of the bed, above the bedside table, removes the need for table lamps or wall lights and frees up the surface. Hang the bottom of the fitting roughly level with the top of your head when sitting up in bed. See bedroom lighting.

How many pendants do I need?

Most of our pendants are single light fittings, which is what you want when you are hanging two or three in a row. A three light pendant ceiling light, where the lamps share one ceiling plate, is the alternative when you only have one fixing point to work with.

The practical difference is the ceiling. Three separate pendants need three holes and three cables, and they let you set each drop independently. One three light fitting needs a single fixing and hangs as a unit. If the ceiling is already up and you would rather not open it, the single fitting wins.

Finishes: black, brass and gold

A black pendant light is the most popular thing we sell in this category and the default on new builds. Matt black with clear or amber glass works against white walls and dark walls equally, which is why it has held on so long.

Brass has come back strongly. A brass pendant light in the brushed finish suits a modern kitchen, while an antique brass pendant light is the warmer, softer option for an older house or a painted room. Both pair well with amber and smoked glass.

A gold pendant light reads as more formal than brass and holds up against darker walls and richer colours. Chrome and polished nickel are the neutral choices and disappear behind the shade, which is what you want when the glass is doing the work.

Copper and bronze suit a period kitchen and a filament style lamp.

Glass pendant lights

Nearly half our pendants use glass, and the type of glass decides what the fitting does.

• Clear glass – shows the lamp, so use a decorative filament bulb. Most light, most sparkle, most glare.
• Ribbed and fluted glass – breaks the light up without hiding the lamp completely. The safe middle choice, and currently the most popular.
• Opal and frosted glass – hides the lamp and gives the softest, most even spread. Best over a dining table.
• Smoked and mirrored glass – mutes the light. Choose it when the fitting is meant to be looked at rather than to light a worktop.
• Amber glass – warms the light noticeably. Pairs with brass and black.

Wood, rattan and natural finishes

A wood pendant light softens a kitchen full of hard surfaces, and oak and walnut sit well against both white and dark units. A rattan pendant light does the same job with more texture and suits a conservatory, a garden room or a coastal house. Both work best in odd numbers over an island.

Pendant light shades

On many of our fittings the shade is replaceable, so a pendant you like the frame of can be updated later for a fraction of the price of a new light. Pendant light shades in fabric give a soft warm spread, metal pushes the light straight down, and glass sits between the two.

Check the fitting type before you order a pendant lamp shade, because shades attach either to the lamp holder or to a ring, and the two are not interchangeable. See our range of shades.

How bright is a pendant light and can I dim them?

Brightness is measured in lumens, and you will find the lumens rating in the technical specifications on each product page. The higher the lumens the brighter the light.

Almost all our fittings can be dimmed by choosing an LED dimmable bulb. Two things have to line up. Your dimmer switch must be LED compatible, because an old resistive dimmer causes flicker and buzzing on LED lamps. And where the pendant has an integrated LED rather than a replaceable bulb, check the product specification to see whether it dims.

Our LED bulbs are dimmable and cover the common fittings. Over an island, buy them all at once and in the same colour temperature, because a mismatch across a row of pendants is obvious.

Can I buy a pendant with built-in LED?

Yes, we have a large range of pendant lighting with built-in LED. To find out whether a light has a built-in LED, check the specifications on the product page. If the technical specification does not list a base type, the lamp is built in. These LEDs run up to 20,000 hours.

Buying pendant lighting in Ireland

We deliver pendant lights across Ireland, north and south, direct to your door. Fittings arrive with the cable at full length and are shortened on installation, so measure the drop you want before the electrician arrives. Find A Light always recommend that you consult a qualified electrician when installing lighting.

Related categories

• Ceiling lights – the full range, including flush fittings, spotlights and centre fittings.
• Cluster pendant lights – several drops from one ceiling plate, for stairwells and halls.
• Over island and table lighting – pendants sized and spaced for a kitchen island.
• Crystal pendants – cut crystal and acrylic drops on chrome and brass frames.
• Chandeliers – multi-arm fittings for a dining room or stairwell.
• Shades – replacement fabric, metal and glass shades.