Pendants Under $100

Light fixtures! They’re art and function in one! We say spend some money to get them right.

But, if you want to get it right without spending money (or much money anyway), this is the post for you.

First, the basics: a pendant is a fixture that hangs from the ceiling. (Now you know.) Pendants are great for task lighting and what we call “human-scale” lighting: it’s at our level, connecting the ceiling down to us. That connection is an instant coziness upgrade. We often specify pendants in bathrooms and over islands and dining tables - and sometimes, just for kicks, other places.

Honest truth: it’s not going to be as easy as just clicking on one of these and pushing “Buy” - you need to get the right size for the space, and height, the right bulb temperature, and the right context. But as you’d imagine, we do have some pendants in our back pockets that we love, so we figure, why hoard them? Here’s our post on sizing a pendant; and here’s the rule of thumb for hanging height: the base of the fixture should be 30-36" above the surface below it. At a vanity, the mid-point of the light bulb should be a touch higher than your eye level. Too low, you say? Nope. Trust us.

And if you are ever in doubt, we are here to help.

Susan Yeley