Kitchen islands have gone from a "nice to have" to a "must have" in kitchens throughout the country. Not only are they a sign of a nicely appointed kitchen, but they add valuable workspace to the kitchen - allowing families to easily gather together to create meals and spend time with one another.

Traditional kitchen lighting, however, wasn't necessarily designed with kitchen islands in mind. Often the lighting is directed instead to the kitchen counters using recessed lights or there is just a single overhead light that tries to cover the entire kitchen with a flat level of light that really isn't that great for preparing or enjoying food.

If you have recently installed a kitchen island, have a portable island on wheels or are thinking about doing a major remodel to add an island, you want to give serious consideration to kitchen island lighting.

The type of kitchen island lighting you use depends on the kitchen you have, its style and the shape of the kitchen and island in general.

One of the popular options right now in kitchen island lighting is to go with lighting that is built into a pot rack. This does double duty, giving you a place to hang your pots and pans as well as lighting to be able to prepare food without worrying about cutting yourself with a chef's knife because you couldn't see what you are doing.

If you don't want to get a lighted rack, you can go with ceiling mounted lighting instead. While some homeowners like recessed "can-style" lighting that's flush mounted into the ceiling, others prefer to use pendant lighting since these can be aimed at various work spaces, not only adding the light you need, but adding drama as well, especially if you use dimmer switches on all the lights.

If you have a larger kitchen island, you may want to go with a chandelier style instead. This gives you a single kitchen island lighting option that allows maximum coverage with the fewest lights. This can reduce the visual clutter and give the kitchen a much cleaner look to it.

Once you've selected your lighting, you'll need to make sure it is placed in the right location. In many cases, such as recessed lighting, you have to do some minor remodeling to the kitchen, including cutting holes in the ceiling, so you want to measure twice and just cut once.

For a single kitchen island lighting fixture, it should be centered over the island. If you have a mobile island, be sure it is centered in the room before you start to decide the placement of the junction box for the light.

Recessed lights, on the other hand, should be evenly spaced but still cover the entire island. The good news is that figuring out ideal placement for lighting is a fairly simple process, as chandeliers, recessed lights and even pendants are easy to install and most lighting solutions come with good instructions.

Some of the new design ideas include the use of pendants in lieu of a single fixture or even recessed lighting for kitchen islands as well as the dining table. Mini pendants are also popular and some of them have very retro accents that make them look as if they were pulled from a home that used gas lighting at the turn of the 20th century. Rustic styles are also popular, being purposely distressed or using leather accents. These can add real warmth to the kitchen and add the little details that really make the space look complete.

Finally, some designers are turning out lighting that looks like it would look more at home outdoors. This type of kitchen island lighting gives your home a look of a classic country inn or an estate tucked away in a quaint European town.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is pendant lighting for your kitchen or kitchen tables for you newly remodeled home, there are many tips you can use to make any spot both functional and beautiful. Click today and indulge your senses.

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