In my experience, lighting has the most impact on a space but always seems to be one of the most expensive features. It’s hard to grin and bare it, forking out hundreds of dollars for a light fixture…until….you install it and then you realize what a fabulous investment it was. Lighting is often underplayed and overlooked. I would like to turn to Candice Olson on this one. She uses lighting as a trademark in her designs. Not only does she often have a statement chandelier over a coffee table, but generally uses additional sconces on the walls, lamps on tables, and of course, recessed lighting. I love Candice’s ability to create that layer of lighting because she knows how much it can change the dimension of a space.
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Things are starting to change in the world of lighting and how it’s presented. Typically, we are use to seeing a single chandelier hung over dining tables, sometimes even coffee tables. Above islands, people tend to evenly space out pendant lights or use two larger chandeliers. It seems now, clustering of lights has becoming extremely in vogue. This is a trend I can get on board with. I am tired of pendant lights above an island, if I am to be honest. They are boring and overdone. Perhaps this was evident when I hung my Pottery Barn chandelier above my “island”.
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So what does this mean? Basically, think of clustering lights together as a bouquet of flowers. Use varying heights, shapes that are from similar lighting families and be creative. The trickiest part to this feature would be figuring out the spacing for the electrical boxes. Be sure to have the actual fixtures before you guide your electrician where to install the boxes. Literally, hold up all of the lights and figure out the best spacing. Depending on the diameter of each light will determine the space between each light.
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I want the 4th cluster over MY island! Help me 😀