Choosing Island Pendants

Some say choosing your island pendants is one of the most important design decisions you'll make when renovating your kitchen. It's certainly one of the most visible. And it's also the fixture most likely to look dated soonest. Luckily, it's also the easiest to replace. I'm going to have fun choosing my pendants. While the rest of the kitchen will have chrome fixtures, pendants are one place that I feel I can introduce a second finish, such as bronze or burnished gold — a trend I find appealing but feel is already on it's way out. Or black, also very trendy. Here are six island pendants I'm considering. Which would you choose?

Let's try them out against the backdrop of my inspiration kitchen.

1. Schoolhouse Union Pendant
This one may be the obvious choice, because I used it in our bathroom. The kitchen will be white with marble, just as our bathroom is. Using the same lighting in both kitchen and bath will bring cohesion to our home's design. There's a harmony in repetition.

2. Schoolhouse Luna Pendant
When I first began thinking about my kitchen renovation two and a half years ago, I pictured three globe pendants just like this hanging above my island. A mid-century classic, the globe's very simplicity has a timeless appeal. If I go with this light, I'd choose the natural brass finish. It was a common mid-century finish that's reflected in the brass door knobs and hardware on all the doors in our house—one of the few originals not ripped out by the previous owners.

3. Nuevo Living Harper Pendant
This black and gold beauty would be a real departure from my usual style, but somehow I feel it would work in our space. This home was built in 1946 but it was planned before the war and our building and lobby reflect art deco influences of the time. At one time our dining platform featured black wrought iron railings and our windows were black steel casements. That black would have been picked up in the square reliefs of the radiator grills, which dominate the larger living room. This would be a wild choice for me, but I think it could work.

4. Schoolhouse Isaac Pendant
While I tend to favor classics like the globe and though I'm toying with more frivolous selections like the Harper, a simple dome fixture like this one may actually be the more practical choice. Afterall, the whole purpose of island lighting is to illuminate the food prep tasks that will be happening at the island. The open canopy will provide far more light than the other options. This canopy shape is a Scandinavian classic with lasting appeal.

5. Schoolhouse Donna Pendant
Here's another dome pendant with an open canopy that I like. The bright gold with white interior would provide a flash of drama against the backdrop of this very simple kitchen design. But is it too flashy?

6. Rejuvenation Mid-Century Commercial Pendant
Rejuvenation is a company that breathes life into architectural remnants. This pendant was used in schools and factories around about the time our building was erected. It has the same simplicity and utility of the globe pendants, but the diamond shape of the canopy gives it added flair. Lights like this would have provided the brightest, most useful light possible and I think is up to the task of providing lighting over an island.

So, these are my choices. Tell me what you think!