Island Pendants

Hanging Island Pendants with Only One Junction Box?

Over the years I’ve often been asked what to do when considering replacing or adding lighting over a kitchen island or bar.

My answer: three to four individual mini-pendants. That’s great if you are willing to have an Electrician install the junction boxes or if you’re lucky you already have them in place.

But some applications with special ceilings have the home owners standing firm as cutting up their ceilings and installing more electrical boxes is not an option they are willing to explore.

My first question is: what is the kitchen island used for? I get a lot of different answers but most people are eating, reading or preparing food. Knowing this information helps with how many pendants and what type of light bulb, directional or non directional, is best suited for their use.

So getting back to the challenge of lighting a kitchen island with only one power source, here are my top 3 picks:

(A)Three low voltage pendants hung on a 12” decorative circular canopy.

(B) Three low voltage pendants hung on a 24” decorative rectangular bar canopy.

(C) A mono rail system with pendants and maybe a few directional heads for good measure. Low voltage systems offer more contemporary styles of glass pendants but 120 volt systems are the easiest and least expensive to install.

Venetian Glass Lighting Fixtures

The Veneto Luce is our newest collection incorporating handcrafted glass shades. Each glass shade is truly a work of art, created by artisans in the historic city of Venice, Italy, where glass making has been an art form for more than 700 years.

Using traditional forming methods, Venetian artisans form the glass shades into three distinctive shapes: Cylinder, Bowl, and Tulip. Each glass shade is available in three finishes: Whitewash, Amber, and Gold with Clear Rim.
The Hardware setting for these fine pieces is offered in Brushed Nickel, Dark Bronze and Matte Black.

The Veneto Luce Collection consists of Wall Sconces, Pendants, Pendant Clusters, Bathroom Vanity and Chandeliers of all sizes.

Connecting Your Track Lighting

Straight track joiners are offered in two ways: mini joiner and straight connectors.
Mini joiners are usually the correct choice for most applications as where the straight connectors not only connect tracks but also have a knockout that allows this component to double as a power feed. Mini joiners are the cleaner look and my recommendation for straight connecting of the track.

Flexible connectors add bulk to the system but allows for connection of tracks to any angle up to 90 degrees or wall to ceiling or pitched ceiling applications.

“L” connectors allow for a 90 degree angle in tracks. Most “L” connectors have a knockout that allows power access. Most “L” connectors are field adjustable for left and right hand applications.

“T” and “X” connectors also are quite popular in the commercial lighting world as well as the home. Again, these components have a central knockout making these connectors double as a power feed. “T” connectors are field adjustable for left or right hand applications.

Powering Track Lighting

You will need (1) power feed per track run no matter if the run is 4’ or 40’.

The first type of power feed is a live end power feed.
The live end feed snaps onto the end of your track and means that that end of the track must be placed directly over the junction box.
The live end feed has knock outs that allow wiring to feed through the back. If you are feeding power to your track with wire that has conduit casing be sure to use a live end feed that accepts 1/2 “ conduit.
The hard wired live end feed is my personal preference as it provides a clean hidden appearance.

Live end feeds can accommodate standard wiring, conduit wiring and can even be had with a cord and plug for the application that just can’t be hard wired.

The second type of power feed is the floating feed. The floating feed offers a bit more flexibility in that it allows for the feed connection to be made anywhere along the track. While more flexible I think the floating feed is a bit clunky looking.

The Versatile Track Light

Lighting fixtures are necessary for all households. They are necessary not only for illuminating an area but also to accentuate the look and feel of the rooms. Track lighting is one of the most widely used and highly versatile options as they are available in various shapes, sizes, designs, colors and power output options. Track lighting fixtures are used in homes, work places, art studios, theatres, cinemas, auditoriums and other public places.

Track lighting has the capability to provide directional and focal lighting. It provides ideal enhancement for areas with excellent general lighting but which need additional focus on accent features. It is commonly known that track lighting has always been most suited to contemporary styling. Designers are making innovative use of track lighting in homes, as accent or pendant lighting.

My preference is a sleek low voltage track head that powers a halogen MR16 lamp. These 2” high intensity light bulbs are the cleanest form of halogen I have seen and beam spreads range from very narrow spots to wide floods.

Outdoor Lighting Hillcrest Collection Review

One of our most popular families of outdoor lighting just added three new wall lanterns to the line up. The Hillcrest collection is a design made for classic Arts & Crafts style homes, but looks great on contemporary or modern homes as well. The opaque linen glass softens the light, reducing glare and hot spots.

Click on the Hillcrest Outdoor lighting collection links below then scroll down and view the entire Hillcrest collection:


Outdoor Wall Lantern Lighting
Outdoor Post Lantern Lighting
Outdoor Flush Mount Ceiling Lighting
Outdoor Hanging Pendant Lighting