Above kitchen islands and worktables, you’ll want a strong ceiling light that allows you to see what you’re doing but doesn’t make the room feel like an operating theater, as recessed overhead lights sometimes do. A pendant light, one that’s suspended from the ceiling via wire and has a funneling shade, is the preferred choice of all our experts. The Swedish interior designer Beata Heuman, 42, designed her own, the Snowdrop Rise and Fall Light, in 2018. It has a weighted pulley that allows you to adjust its height and, as of this month, is available with a hemp shade and a brass fitting. Ramstedt recommends the Louis Poulsen PH 5 Pendant Light, with a trio of stacked metal shades; she calls it the “Rolls-Royce of lights” because what it gives off is “direct yet glare-free.” The fixture was designed by the Danish architect Poul Henningsen and came out in 1958 following “10 years of research and development,” notes Heuman, who’s also a fan.