The personalizing power of pendants
Today’s styles marry function and fashion to create a bold statement
Pendant lighting has taken the design world by storm. With a staggering number of options available today, the hanging fixtures bring custom style and personality to any space.
Evolving from commercial uses to the now common open-concept floor plans of new and renovated homes, pendants have taken on a much more dramatic role.
“Pendant lighting has become the jewelry or signature look in many spaces today,” says Laurie Jarvis of Unique Spaces, which decorates Tartan’s models.
While its utilitarian function is still important, the vast selection of styles and sizes now available “allows consumers, homeowners and the design trade to put their personal stamp on a room,” she says. “They’re almost sculptural to me,” adds decorator Kristi Blok of Kiki Interiors. “They’re functional, but they’re also like an art piece in the space.”
Hera Arevian of Arevco Lighting has seen such a growth in the popularity of pendant lighting that she’s devoted more than a quarter of the space in her store to displaying them and says they make up about half of her sales.
“They’re a big seller for both kitchens and bathrooms and dining rooms, staircases,” she says. It’s that versatility that gets her excited when talking about them because they can work virtually anywhere, whether as a single light, in a grouping, on a track, or cascading several feet down a staircase opening to “get that wash of light all the way through,” says designer Penny Southam.
Even tract builders are getting in on the act, using bold choices in model homes.
“It does make a statement when you get the right lights,” says Greg Graham, president of Cardel Homes’ Ottawa operation. Many of Cardel’s recent models have showcased big, bold pendant lighting that really stands out, particularly over kitchen islands.
In open-concept layouts, they’re a great way of providing definition by creating a screen of sorts between otherwise connected spaces, says architect Toon Dreessen. “Even when not turned on, they hang in the space and help define one space from another.”
They help set the tone, providing ambience and illumination and creating a mood in the room, he says.
“They’re playing much more of a role in the overall detailing of a space,” adds Southam.
And they’re found so often over kitchen islands because of the greater role that islands are playing in our home life.
“The kitchen has evolved into a highly functional space and the island is usually the focal point of today’s modern kitchen,” says designer Linda Nolan, who decorates Richcraft’s models.
The multi-purpose space serves as a food prep area, breakfast bar, homework station, buffet table, even a dining table, she says, and pendant lighting is a great way to illuminate the work surface and add visual appeal.
“It has become the look that one needs to put in a kitchen,” says Arevian. “Pendants are fun.”