How much light do I need for my kitchen island?

One of the most common questions that we get asked is: "How much light do I need for my kitchen?"

The answer, as always, depends on both you and your situation.  

One quick question to ask yourself is: "Will I be relying on these lights for the primary source of light in the room?" Also, be careful here about the idea of  windows providing lots of additional light in the space. A good part of the time that you will be turning on your lights is when the sun isn't shining. 

If you have lots of additional light such as recessed lighting or hi-hats in your space, you could definitely go with a lower wattage bulb such as a 4-watt LED which is equivalent to approximately 35- 40 watts on an incandescent bulb.

However, if you'll be relying on these lights as the primary light source for the space you might want to consider upgrading to a brighter bulb such as the 8 watt or the 10 watt filament LED in your pendant lights so that you aren't in the dark, so to speak. The 8-watt LED compares to 75-80 watts incandescent bulb in brightness, and the 10-watt LED is equivalent to about a 100 watt incandescent bulb but does not fit in any of our smallest pendants.

Also, consider yourself when you make the decision. If you find that your eyes just need more light to see the details, sometimes a  higher wattage bulb can be a great investment since all the bulbs are dimmable and a 2700K, warm white color temperature.