Find the Perfect Lighting to Match Your Restoration Hardware Kitchen Style
When it comes to kitchen design, the lighting you choose can make or break the aesthetic. Lighting sets the mood and brings all the elements together into a cohesive style. For luxury kitchens, Restoration Hardware offers an unparalleled selection of statement lighting fixtures to match their famous cabinetry and hardware.
If you're remodeling your kitchen and love Restoration Hardware's transitional to traditional styles, read on for guidance on selecting the perfect lighting to complement your design.
An Overview of Restoration Hardware's Distinct Lighting Collections
From vintage industrial to minimalist modern, Restoration Hardware lighting caters to a variety of aesthetics. Here's an overview of their most popular kitchen lighting collections and styles:
Vintage Industrial Lighting
With exposed filaments, cage-like shades, and distressed finishes, industrial pendants and chandeliers from Restoration Hardware add a hint of steampunk flair. The once-utilitarian Edison bulb is now a decorator’s dream, emitting a beautiful warm glow. Collections like the Charleston Pendant and Eddison Glass Pendants capture this vintage industrial spirit.
The airy, geometric shapes and bronze finishes pair perfectly with modern and transitional kitchens alike. Industrial lighting adds an element of the unexpected and creates visual interest overhead.
Ornate Traditional Lighting
On the more dramatic end, Restoration Hardware also offers elaborate chandeliers and crystal pendants inspired by European glamour. The sprawling Aubrey Collection features strands of crystal beads, curved arms, and antique brass or silver leaf finishes.
For traditional kitchens, an ornate chandelier or chandelier-inspired island pendant ties the space together beautifully. Crystals refract light in all directions for a shimmering ambiance. The grandeur of antique lighting fixtures mesmerizes.
Understated Modern Lighting
Modern kitchen lighting tends to blend seamlessly into contemporary spaces. Collections like Wrap Display Rail and Track Lighting have an ultra minimalist look. The slender tracks spotlight countertops or walls with adjustable, LED-powered spot heads. You can sculpt light exactly where you need it.
Clean lines and geometric shapes define mid-century modern and contemporary pendant lights. Restoration Hardware's dome and cylinder pendants like the Milo Collection embody this sleekness. The refined, neutral palette lets the lighting recede into the background.
Choosing Complementary Kitchen Lighting
With an array of lighting options on the table, narrowing your selection involves examining your kitchen layout and style preferences. Here are key considerations as you evaluate lighting for your Restoration Hardware-inspired space:
Factor in Your Kitchen Floor Plan
Galley kitchens do well with pendants spaced evenly down the center that lead the eye. With islands or eat-in dining areas, elongaged pendants beautifully frame the space. For L-shaped kitchens, mix ambient lighting with task lighting elements like under cabinet lighting.
The room’s size and ceiling height also impact lighting placement. A professional kitchen designer can help you develop the ideal lighting blueprint unique to your footprint.
Match Your Decor Style
Your kitchen’s overall aesthetic should guide your lighting choices. Play up your kitchen’s traditional charm with an antique chandelier dripping in crystals. Contemporary spaces deserve modern spotlights or geometric pendants.
Be sure to coordinate metals and finishes. If your faucet and hardware lean traditional, select lighting in harmonious antique brass, oil-rubbed bronze or chrome.
Factor in Lighting Purpose
Ambient, task and accent lighting each serve distinct roles. Ambient lighting comes from recessed can lights that bathe the entire kitchen in a soft glow. Accent lighting spotlights particular areas or furnishings. Task lighting aids food prep.
Factor in needed lumens, position adjustable fixtures above prep zones, and use dimmers to change the mood. Blend lighting types for a well-rounded lighting design.
Signature Restoration Hardware Collections for Kitchens
Now that you know what to consider, here’s an in-depth look at some of Restoration Hardware’s most fitting kitchen lighting collections:
Pendant Lighting
Pendant lights instantly elevate kitchen islands, dining sets, and open floor plans. Mini-pendants, single pendants, and linear suspension lights all resonate. The Santiago Collection offers double pendant chandeliers with a transitional look. Industrial pendants like the Edison Glass Pendant seem right at home above stainless steel.
Make sure pendant heights suit your space. Mini-pendants come in at 18-22 inches tall while larger statement pendants can be 36 inches or more. Stick with general guidelines of 30-34 inches between island pendants and 66-78 inches from pendants to counter height.
Sputnik Chandeliers
The iconic sputnik burst onto the lighting scene in the 50s and now adorns contemporary and eclectic kitchens. Restoration Hardware's iterations like the Harper Sputnik Chandelier have a celestial quality with illuminated orbitals. The chandelier’s size suits generous rooms with high ceilings.
A sputnik chandelier lends a dramatic focal point. The interlocking, spherical structure captures and reflects light exquisitely. It becomes an illuminated sculpture overhead.
Under Cabinet Lighting
For a streamlined look, install under cabinet lighting to remove upper cabinet shadows. Restoration Hardware's LED tape lighting comes in conveniently sized rolls for mounting beneath cabinet frames and shining down on countertops or backsplashes.
The narrow strip lighting can be trimmed to fit the desired length. Opt for plug-in installation or hire an electrician for hardwired integration. This discreet but mighty lighting illuminates tasks.
Achieving Your Lighting Vision
Installing new kitchen lighting and getting the details right may seem daunting. But Restoration Hardware’s stunning fixtures coupled with smart design moves will help you actualize your ideal lighting.
Consider Hiring a Lighting Designer
An experienced kitchen lighting designer has the technical know-how to match lights to your floorplan while realizing your aesthetic vision. They can suggest perfect placements and collections.
Take advantage of Restoration Hardware's design services for personalized lighting plans. Their experts ensure your lighting aligns with your kitchen's furnishings and architecture.
Use Samples to Visualize the Look
Viewing pendant samples or chandelier sample rooms allows you to get a feel for sizing and see finishes in person. Ensure your lighting choices complement your cabinetry, hardware, floors and other elements.
Establish lighting zones and dimmer placement during planning. Upon install, tweak spots and intensity until your Restoration Hardware kitchen glows.
Factor in hardwiring, junction boxes, transformer locations and possible structural changes needed. While plug-in pendants are simpler, hardwired lights have a more integrated look.
Today's dimmers, smart controls and LED compatibility also boost functionality. With good lighting design principles and Restoration Hardware's stunning fixtures, your perfect kitchen lighting awaits.