a light and a pot rack -- help?

[indigo_rose99]

So we have an island in the kitchen. At our request, they put in extra support above it so we can hang a pot rack. There is an electrical fixture there.

Our builder suggested a pot rack with lights built into it. I researched those. Either they are insanely expensive (anything more than $150 is insanely expensive) or they are hideous. Often both. The reasonable-looking pot rack with lights that shows up the most often has a max weight limiit of 30lb, which we could not live with.

So we bought a cheap pot rack that I rather liked, no light. Key element I'm dubious about is that it will only hold up to 40lbs of pans. But it is cheap enough that if I end up buying another I won't have to beat myself up too badly.

No, I have not actually weighed my pans. Yet. I will!

Yes, the light fixture is DIRECTLY above the island, which is also where the pot rack will hang. T doesn't want to have a flat-to-ceiling light, figuring that the pans will entirely block it. Or cause weird shadows.

On one pot rack review, they talked about threading lights through the pot rack. I suspect we need to go that route. Hanging lights that can drop down through the pans? I have lovely (well used) all-clad stainless pans to hang on the pot rack. The rest of the room is white, dark wood tile floors, pale wood cabinets. I'd like lights that will thread through the pot rack, not cast pot-shaped shadows on my island and will not break on an evil thought. *shiver* Ugh, glass shards all over the food...

Wanna help search?

Comments

[reedrover]

Have you considered an adjustable track light, so that two of the lights are outside of the pot rack's shadow?

https://amzn.com/B003Q79PLY

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Not a bad idea. And I do like the adjustable nature of them. Plus it can be either flush mount of dropped 30 inches. This does have potential!

Finally weighed the pots

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Our current pot rack is really just a bar from IKEA (probably valued at $5, with extra hooks). We can't fit all of our pots on it, just most of the ones with long handles. And none of the lids.

That said, my travel scale came out to a whopping estimated 15.3lbs. *sigh* I even weighed each pot twice, and weighed the smaller pots in groups of 2 or 3. 15.3 lbs?! *sigh*

I cancelled the light-less potrack from Amazon order. And sent off the 30 lb-max description for the lighted potrack.

We have most of the pots we will ever want. In fact, I am currently getting rid of several! So the chances our to-be-hanging pots will weigh twice what they do now? Slim to none.

Whew! One more thing off our list.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I am going to say that if you have a pot rack over the island, then you should not have a ceiling light over the island. Say no to weird shadows!

Of course you still do want to be able to have light on the island.

I think in your current house, you have light coming from one side, either from the window during the day, or a light over the window at night. Plus light coming from the dining room?

In my house, our pot rack is over the stove, and the light is in the fume hood which is below the pot rack. (Of course that light doesn't work currently, so I use light from near the sink like yours. And Robin has rigged a brighter light like you clip to your car hood, but clipped to the fume hood so we can see into the pots, especially the deep ones.)

One of the reviewers has cannister lights all around. That seems like a very elegant solution (though I know some people don't like cannister lights for some reason). See the third picture here:
<https://www.amazon.com/review/r2pf7jhj9la2bn/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=utf8&asin=b0000djbin&channel=detail-glance&nodeid=284507&store=kitchen>

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't see your comment above when I wrote the above. So you got the expensive lighted pot rack after all?

Then you don't need my idea to have a hanging lamp that goes down to where the pots are or below them, like the one in the top big picture here: <http://sarahshermansamuel.com/diy-a-modern-pendant-lamp/>. I wrote this anyway just in case.

FYI, for annoying decisions, you could always go with whatever cheapo-apartment builders use (or ideally, durable things that apartment builders use), especially for stuff like lamps that are easy to switch out later.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Not hugely expensive. But expensive, yes. And it has the 30lb weight limit.

But I kinda like your light. *filing away for future changes and in case I hate this pot rack with light*

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

In our current house, the main kitchen light is directly over the island. Our pots hang to one side.

It is such an invisible light, you never notice. *smile*

Cannister lights... Are those the ones that are set into the ceiling? Hmm... too late on that one. But I was eyeing the light that seemed to be kinda draped over the side...