First of all, I cannot wait to see your finished kitchen! Your style is very close to ours. I love what you're showing so far.

Regarding the lights, I think you need 3 because you'd have to line up 2 lights in some fashion which would mess with your alignment to the range as you mentioned. I do like your designer's idea of the S-track. The Tech Echo lights are on our short list as well.

And though those Dervish pendants are awfully cool, I'm not sure they will work for you.

But I'm no expert! :)

p.s. I think the curved lines will be nice against all the angles.

This post was edited by ck_squared on Tue, Feb 5, 13 at 18:24

Thanks, CK. Our cabinets are supposed to be installed in 2 weeks -- can't wait! But now I have to deal with the last remaining details ASAP, lol.

My designer said that if I didn't want to use the track, 2 or 3 individual fixtures would be ok, even 2 in a line, but a single, long linear fixture would not be.

Do you think three 5" diameter pendants are large enough in scale for a 54" x 96" island?

Honestly, I think it's just about perfect.

You'd have one light at say the 1 1/2 ft. mark, one at 4 ft. and one at the 6 1/2 ft mark.
(I just put my tape measure out to 96" and envisioned the spacing of the lights.)

Hoping others will chime in here with their expert opinions.

I have Tech's Otto pendants so I know what you mean about them being budget busters but I am glad I splurged on them. They look good both on and off. I don't think you can go wrong with either of your choices. If you want to introduce a little color though the Echo is a good way to do it It looks like the Essex is low voltage and the Echo is line voltage. Don't know if that makes a big difference or not. My Otto pendants are low voltage 50 watt halogen. They give off very nice light.
I definitely think you need 3 lights for the size of your island if you go with the Tech pendants because they are pretty streamlined. My island is about 87 inches and my pendants are about 4.5 x 7. I went with 3 and would not want less than that.
Just for comparison here is a picture of mine. Note, I did raise the one directly above the sink a little higher than the other two.

And here is how it looks lit. I think the Echo would look similar with the white diffuser in it.

btt for kay

Wow, your kitchen is going to be gorgeous! Of the lights you have shown, I like the Tech Echo pendants the best. I'm honestly not a big fan of the curvy track and would probably line them up centered on the island regardless of the range positioning.

Gorgeous! I like both tech pendants and I would spend the extra money for the extra holes.

I think you should shop around for track lighting. The S-track with 3 pendants or 4 feels right and I agree with your DH about minimizing holes.. Especially in your situation.

I like the Dervish in nickle. Three is better than two, for sure. Wonderful kitchen!

Badgergal, your Otto pendants are beautiful and look so great with your tile BS. I noticed the height difference in your reveal post -- looks good.

Pricklypear, I've debated the curvy track a lot. This island lighting issue is going to give me an ulcer, lol.

Amanda, thanks, I like both Tech pendants too. When you say I should pay for more holes, do you mean I should use those pendants without a track?

GWlolo, believe me, I have been shopping around a lot for track systems. Because of our vaulted ceiling, which is 10' high above the island, I need a system that has 2' rigid supports as an option. That seems to eliminate most companies. We were originally going with a Bruck system with their Rome pendant, but my designer did not like their cable supports and how many would be required. (Plus, the cost was not any lower.)

Hosenemesis, I'm glad to hear you like the Dervish too. I think 3 of them would be too much for an 8' island.

Just to clarify, I am trying to decide between using 3 smaller pendants, like the 5" diameter Tech pendants, or 2 larger (15" or 22" diameter) pendants, like the Dervish. I welcome more comments on which option is better for an 8' x 4.5' island. TIA!

I vote for three Tech Echos. I think they're a great match with your kitchen, and are interesting while not taking up a lot of space visually. The Dervish is nice, but is that what you want everyone to notice first? Maybe it is, and that's fine. I think you should probably do two if you go with the 22" Dervish -- install them one foot from each end of the island, so that's two feet of space; they each take up about two feet of space, so now we're up to 6 feet of space (four total for the two pendants, plus the two feet, one at either end). If you space them two feet apart, that's good spacing. There is that new lighting forum. Maybe you can find more knowledge over there. Best of luck!