David, If I had places to connect four or more orthagonal lines, I would do that. But the trees aren't well-situated for that, and I'm not sure about installing fee-standing poles. They might be a little too intrusive, visually. (If we went with slimmer metal poles, rather than redwood posts, they might not stand out as much. I may need to investigate how strong metal poles would have to be, and how I could get them fabricated.) The cantilevered umbrella system is a clever idea, but I think that would be too big and intrusive for what we have in mind. We have another outlet at the edge of the patio near the table. I suppose we could go with one of those under-umbrella lighting kits that would attach to the ribs of our existing market umbrella and run the cord from beneath the table to the outlet. We were hoping to have lighting that leaves the dining area open to the sky, but that may not be practical.

the crystal one is pottery barn, the others you can find all over. for some cost savings, try Lampsplusopenbox. great deals. https://www.lampsplusopenbox.com/chandeliers-category/island-usage/search.htm this one is nice too. 75watts for each bulb. that should be decent light for the island area they have this one too. not bad at $367. I've ordered a few from them. selections are limited and they change daily. otherwise, try regular LampsPlus, and here on Houzz or Wayfair. https://www.houzz.com/products/lunar-3-light-cascade-pendant-no-767-clear-glass-shades-prvw-vr~111334315

Thank you, Patricia. I am trying to find a place for the cabinet. I like your idea of putting it in a closet. It was hard downsizing and losing 1500 square feet of space. I got rid of a lot of furniture! Below is a sideboard that I still have in another room which I can use in the dining room if I need something to "ground" the picture. (Sorry for the picture quality.) I still have the Marge Carson dining room chairs (one seen in the picture), so I don't need chairs. I put in another outlet in centered on the picture wall so that lamp cords plugged in the wall won't show like this one does in the picture. Even though my dining room is open to the kitchen, I want something dramatic for this dining room. It deserves a statement chandelier (thinking about a gold/gilded one. The room was previously painted BM Van Deusen Blue. I remodeled the kitchen and took down the wall between the two rooms to let in more light. Then I changed the color to BM Ballet White. I miss the blue... I like your idea of a round table. Would you suggest that I use a round or square rug? I just need to be mindful of the passageway from the foyer to kitchen that goes down one side of the dining room. This area of circulation is used a lot. Below is a shot of my living room to give you an idea of the space near the dining room. I hope this helps to spark some ideas.

Btydrvn, to answer your OT question, my house is one of those places where people are always coming and going and everyone knows there’s food and a place at my table. So all the chairs are used. Not at every meal of every day, but very frequently. The table is not as close to the buffet as it might appear on the photo. My dining space is large enough that I can afford to let plenty of space between the table and buffet and all the places at the table are easily accessible. And to those of you who suggested I contact those who sell this light regarding open box or damaged lights, thank you. I’m currently waiting to hear back.