Need some help with lighting over the table

18 years ago

Here's the problem...I didn't put any thought into the location of the light fixture for the eat-in area of my kitchen. I just told the electrician to put it in the same spot where it had been when our kitchen and dining room were separate rooms. I knew that it needed to be centered in front of the window, but it should not have been centered in the room. It did not occur to me that the fact that I was orienting the table perpendicular to how it had been would be a problem. Where the hole for the light fixture is now, it will not be centered over our table. It will be, instead, over about the one-quarter mark of the table.

Now, if I had plaster ceilings, it would not be that big a deal to move the hole. But I don't. I have tongue and groove pine ceilings and there is no way to repair the cut out area without a major ordeal. That simply is not an option at this point.

So, I need another solution. Ideally, the hole would be about 16-20" from where it is now. My first thought was to look for a fixture that had a rectangular ceiling mount that would cover the existing hole. So far, I haven't found one like this that would fit in my kitchen. The pic below is the fixture I had picked out from Rejuvenation. Has anyone seen something along those lines with a rectangular mount?

Here's the kind of mount I'm talking about (but NOT this style)...

I also thought about doing multiple, separate pendants over the table, but with three over the island and one over the sink, it just seems too much.

Thoughts? Ideas??

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Comments (9)

paperbirch
18 years ago
We are using three pendants over our kitchen table, with one larger one and two smaller either side (they are all those adjustable height PB Porter pendants, so we can play with raising and lowering to suit the occasion/table expansion/etc). Maybe the differing sizes/heights would help distract from Yet More Pendants?

I remember in England it was quite common to have hanging fixtures which were then looped up again and reattached to the ceiling a little distance away from their original fixture site, presumably to allow flexibility in where the light was centered over time? I tried to do a search for a picture to better explain, but in so doing stumbled across this site below with lots of options similar to the sample you show above... is Mission your style by any chance??

I think you will find a creative solution which you may end up liking even more than your original plan - some of the quirks end up being the favourites, don't you find?!

Cheers,
PB

Here is a link that might be useful: another hanging fixture with broad base
saskatchewan_girl
18 years ago
Have you seen the monorail style of lights. They can be straight, curved, have spot lights or pendants. Try googling monorail lighting images and they might be an option.
Here are a few pics I have of some.
HTH

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ci_lantro
18 years ago
You're looking for what is called a canopy mount. Lots fewer choices w/ canopy mounts now vs just a few years ago.

The simple thing would be to fasten a 1 x board to the ceiling of sufficient length to cover the hole & balanced relative to the table. A pseudo canopy. Then mount the light where you want.

You can get a little fancy and trim the patch out with cove mould or build a shallow box vs just a board.
holligator
Original Author
18 years ago
paperbirch, those Mission fixtures might provide a viable solution. I'll have to see if I can convince DH to go for them.

saskatchewan_girl, those "monorails" are very cool, if a bit too contemporary for my kitchen. I wonder if they make something with that kind of function and a more traditional look?

Thanks to both of you! Any other ideas??
kitchenkelly
18 years ago
Can you cap over the hole in the ceiling and use sconces instead?

That is what I did. I was so sick of not having a light fixture in the right space (over the table) in every place I ever lived - Living room or dining room.
dd70
18 years ago
Do an online search for billiard lights or kitchen island lights. That looks to me like what you need. I did post a link for a few that I found. Here is another site but they are in the craftsman style, not sure thats what your after.
http://www.fiverivers.com/arroyo-craftsman-chandelier-lighting.html
HTHs

Here is a link that might be useful: lights
holligator
Original Author
18 years ago
ci_lantro, that's a great idea! I'll have to explore the option with my carpenter. kitchenkelly, I was tempted to just get them to replace it with a recessed can and add another few to balance things out. That may still be a last resort option for me.
mamadadapaige
18 years ago
I really like ci lantro's idea... not sure the recessed can will give you the ambience of that pretty rejuvenation light.

If you put the wood canopy up there and trim it out nicely, it could look like a really nice deliberate design decision.

good luck. I really love that light fixture you showed and i do think with a rectangular patch you would want something to mimic that shape in the fixture you choose.
ci_lantro
18 years ago
Was browsing around for lighting ideas & I stumbled across this gizmo. Possible solution except that it ties you to pendant lights.

Here is a link that might be useful: ''Flexible Bar'' pendant mount