Glass pendants above an island … am I going to regret this?

[sheeplikessleep]

So, I’ve bought 3 x metal pendants, but I’ve found some really nice blackened glass ball pendants which I’m tempted to buy instead (and get money back on the metal ones).

Kitchen is about to be fitted and electrician is coming in the next few days.

My heart says glass but my head is saying I will regret constant cleaning?

No hob or sink on our island, but will be steam from dishing up.

Does anyone have glass and if so, how much of a nightmare is the cleaning?

That is a beautiful light

Glass is one of the easier things to clean. You will probably regret NOT going for it.

This is what I am considering …

https://www.industville.co.uk/products/knurled-tinted-glass-globe-pendant-light-9-inch-smoke-grey

They're perfect. Stuff always needs cleaning! As previous poster said, glass is easy to clean.

I have a glass pendant light over my island and it is great. Very pretty, kind of a focal point and has stayed quite clean. I cook and bake a lot. I keep a very clean house and haven't noticed any extra cleaning required for the pendant.

DON’T DO IT!!!!

I ordered absolutely beautiful, ridiculously expensive lights like those to go over the counter. Beautiful coppery coloured wires to the ceiling, the works. Looked stunning in the shop.

Looked stunning up.

Turn them on and the light was an absolute JOKE. No directional light at all, so working on the work top was so badly lit, it drove me mad. Couldn’t read recipes/do crosswords at the breakfast bar. The quality of the light was just beyond awful. Really really bad choice. Tried painting them with glass paint which made it slightly better, but ended up taking them down, putting them in the shed and getting solid metal shades in a similar shape that actually pointed the light downwards where it was needed…..

Think hard about what type of light you are wanting. Glass ones will light up the whole room. Opaque solid ones will allow directional light onto the surface.

I would also think about the light rather than the light shade, as this matters most.

These are the ones we haven’t yet taken out of their box.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-baldwin-pendant-ceiling-light/pewter-copper/p5291566?s_ppc=2dx_mixed_home_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2a6wBhCVARIsABPeH1u_MxEsNIKu4hVo0l-IP-cS72X9P4w43CzesO8E3fXUnMpQFaZ4DzQaAlK2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

To be honest, the electrician has put quite a few down lights as well, and he’s quite good at advising on light levels etc.

Everything with this renovation has been style versus practicality! 🙈

I much prefer the glass. If you have a good lighting design in your kitchen area as a whole, it shouldn't be a problem. If you don't, now's the time to fix it so you don't have to compromise on either style or practicality.

To be fair, we are nearing completion on it all and it’s all plastered and decorated so we can’t change light positions now! Just waiting for final fit of the lights and kitchen to be built.

Is it in accidental headbutting range?

Yes. They get filthy. It's gross and a PITA to clean.

This is a true fact.

I wouldn’t have clear glass. I have had them and was cleaning them constantly, but they always looked smeary! I have also had frosted glass (much better since you can’t see the dust/smears as much) and wood with no glass. Both look better and are lower maintenance, in my opinion.

I would 100% go for the JL ones.

I do think the trouble with glass is that you may as well have a bare light bulb dangling down for the little shade it gives, which can look stylish, but it does mean that there's no respite from the bulb at eye level if it is also a seating area at the island with bar stools.

I have opaque (as in non-see-through) island lights and they are fab for illuminating the island workspace without being too harsh when seated there. I also have spotlights for task lighting around all the room. The combination works well.

Ha ha, this is our electricians pet hate (all instagram pics show very low hanging pendants), so I hope not!

I wonder if the fact they’re tinted, they may be more forgiving.

However, I am quite lazy with housework so probably do need to be realistic, rather than swayed by the beautiful pics on Instagram!

It’s gorgeous!

We have just had these put in our new kitchen over our peninsular! They look stunning, builder snd the plumber really liked them as well as lots of friends. Weren’t around when electrician put them in so don’t know his opinion.
We have soft white dimable bulbs.

We had "chrome" effect metal pendants in the previous kitchen and now went with the glass ones, just like yours but in amber color! Both collect equal amount of dust and both are not looking "spotless" in a couple of weeks. Both are easily cleaned with a microfibre cloth, no regrets whatsoever.

Ah good to hear you like!

I think the original metal ones look much nicer. Look more expensive.

I prefer the metal ones to the glass.
More directional light too as another poster mentioned and you could add a dimmer switch for cosy meals.

The shades won’t matter a huge amount. No one seems to be mentioning bulbs! These can be wide beam or more directional. So choose bulbs carefully to get the light you need. You won’t be diffusing light so a good directional bulb will give decent light. Spacing of lights matters too.

I think the glass is a bit ordinary. No colour and not very exciting. Heals has lots of lovely pendant lights with character. Stuff the cleaning - go for style.

Also got the JL ones in that colour as pendants over my island they look lovely & make sure the light is projected down as pp said. We had a lighting designer & the pendants are really good when needing functional lighting for cooking/ reading recipes (ours are on a separate circuit which I really like).