Unique Pendant Lighting Styles for Your Home
Published 03/17/23 | ©baileystreethome.com
Published 03/17/23 | ©baileystreethome.com
Today you’ll find pendant lighting heavily used in kitchens (over a sink or kitchen island) or over a small table as a replacement for a chandelier. These traditional uses for a pendant light are just about everywhere, and we celebrate those unusual people who use their pendants in ways you may not have considered.
Consider a few pendant lights in your master bathroom, flanking your mirrors, instead of more intrusive wall sconces. A hallway is a great place for pendant lighting (think 2 or 3 in a row, lining the hallway) with a short chain (or taller if you’re lucky enough to have a tall ceiling there) rather than traditional flush mounts. One of our favorite uses for unique pendant lighting is in the master bedroom; consider an oversized pendant hung directly over each nightstand for a unique look that frees up space. Finally, in the living room consider replacing a corner lamp with a multiple-pendant cluster – it’s an amazing look for unique hanging lights.
Our experts have fielded multiple questions on how high to hang pendant lighting, and there’s a general rule-of-thumb on the subject: pendants should hang 12-20 inches below an 8-foot ceiling. If your ceiling is taller than 8’, for each foot it is taller add 3 inches of height for the pendant. For instance if an 8’ ceiling is 12-24 inches, on a 10’ ceiling you would hang the pendant 18-30 inches from the ceiling. When hanging multiple pendants in a linear row (like over a kitchen island) consider about 24” between pendants to be the guideline… which you may adjust if you have an unusually thin or fat pendant.
When considering a pendant over a dining area, there are a couple of things to consider. Keep the height of the pendant about 30-36” above the table top… and when you select your pendant, consider your table shape. A round table should have a round pendant, and a square/rectangular table should have a likewise square/rectangular fixture above it. Cohesiveness, people…
Now our favorite part of choosing unique pendant lighting for your home; whittling down the massive selection we have available at Bailey Street Home to exactly the right one. Selecting a pendant that suits your room, your home, and your overall style is the key to making your home feel like you. Shop our collection of pendant lighting, we’ll help you narrow your search by selecting the theme, finish, shape or style that suits you best, and narrowing it down from there.
You can see the nautical appeal inherent in the Bailey Street Home Boston Isaf 147-BEL-938625 3-light pendants as unique pendant lights for a kitchen. Not only will these masterpieces provide diffused lighting below the fixtures, but their open tops allow for light to rebound off the ceiling, filling your room with brilliant ambient light.
Sometimes the simple details are the best. The unique shape and detailed rings at the top of the Bailey Street Home Cranleigh Mead 147-BEL-1634886 bring a uniquely coastal vibe to your outdoor living spaces (damp rated, this fixture is to be used under a covered area like a patio or lanai). Select vintage (or sometimes called “Edison) bulb styles with their unique shape (as shown here) to complete the designer’s vision.
Available in either bronze with dark wicker (as shown), or in white with a lighter wicker, the Bailey Street Home Stewart Newydd 79-BEL-4365405 conjures up thoughts of warm tropical breezes and ocean waves. The hand-painted metal accents include a captured ball finial, giving just a hint of its industrial ancestry.
You can trust the serenity of the slowly undulating pattern inherent in the Bailey Street Home 79-BEL-2041389 to help you relax after a hectic day. Silver-finished aluminum waves contain four integrated led lights, vaulting this toward the top of our list of truly unique pendant lighting.
Sometimes it’s all about the patina. Not only does the Bailey Street Home Hazel Street 170-BEL-2942283 sport an antique ivory finish featuring a rusty patina that takes you back in time, but the inside of the small dome is coated with a warm cream color to reflect even more light.
The very definition of unique kitchen island lighting, the Bailey Street Home Ashgrove Orchards 170-BEL-4476246 large pendant lights are hand painted (no two are ever alike) for a distressed, weathered look. Perfect for homes with eclectic or farmhouse décor, the aged, galvanized steel frame balances the antique teal shade creating a relaxed-down home vibe.
From the scalloped trim detail on the metal top hat to the vintage sage finish (also available in a gorgeous burnished chestnut) and weathered patina, you’ll find character in every nook and cranny of the Bailey Street Home Greenway Firs 170-BEL-2942278. The transitional lantern style of the 4-light Greenway Firs pendant sits securely on our list of unique pendant lighting and should be considered for yours.
Designed to draw the eye of every guest in your home, the Bailey Street Home Camborne Terrace 71-BEL-166389 is at the top of our list of unique pendant lighting. Fine ribbons of millenia finished metal (also available in satin copper, polished chrome, or a glam-friendly crystal chrome) cast brilliant shadows in your home creating both drama and serenity at once.
Barn lighting is barn lighting is barn lighting… until somebody steps it up a notch. We’ve taken the classic barn light, softened its look and used knurled brass details on a sturdy aluminum shade to offset the textured black finish (also available in a glossy white or museum bronze) of the Bailey Street Home Anchor Head 81-BEL-3087926. This unique pendant light boasts a vintage aesthetic that gets an understated modern update and is perfect under a covered porch.
When you’re searching for unique pendant lighting, don’t even worry about what’s IN the box. The Bailey Street Home Reydon Drive 79-BEL-1107672 definitely colors outside lines by employing stamped, handcrafted round metal pieces covered in a deep polished nickel finish to dramatically reflect the light provided by the five bulbs.
Mini-pendants don’t usually pack this much style. We’ve taken a gray distressed wood frame and matched it to a complementary burnished chestnut finish, creating a weathered and antiqued unique mini pendant light. The Bailey Street Home Trent Lane 170-BEL-4476463 is the perfect cross between cozy farmhouse and clean modern style.
The Bailey Street Home Goodwin Circus 2499-BEL-4907689 features a frosted glass diffuser to create a soft hue of light. The cut-conical shape and white linen fabric shade are ensnared by an oil-rubbed bronze (also available in natural antique brass and satin nickel) wire frame to create this unique pendant light.
On the top of my list of favorite uses for pendant lighting is to replace the formal bedside table lamp with exciting pendant lights that serve the exact same purpose while completely freeing up the tops of your nightstands. The clear glass extended glove shade on the Bailey Street Home 147-BEL-2748722 encloses an antique pewter wire mesh cluster with natural brass finished accents.
Hand painted to mimic a treasure found in a French bazaar, the faded antique ivory finish of the Bailey Street Home Martin Drift 170-BEL-4313343 lends itself a vintage quality. Your guests will delight in the playful patterns thrown off of the wonderfully carved design in the fixture’s metal cone, qualifying this little pendant for our list of unique pendant lighting.
Again, we find that pendant lights (or mini-pendant lights) are the most versatile lights you can place in your home. The ideas we’ve brought to you here have inspired many to think of a new use for these old friends, finding not just new rooms to use them in but exciting new ways to spruce up their home.
You can rely on Bailey Street Home to have an amazing array of pendant lighting, with some of the most unique fixtures in the world ready for you to take home. Even more amazing is that since we bring the fixtures directly from the factory to you, we’ve cut out (all) of the middlemen, and bring the savings home to you. The best lighting at the absolute lowest prices anywhere, backed up by the experts at Bailey Street Home. Pick up your next pendant lighting from us – we promise to treat you like family.