feel free to give examples of what you think would work. I promise I love the help.

I do like the one you have picked out, but I think it might be better to go with something invisible (like recessed) or stained glass. I love the fixture you're keeping and would hate to see something fighting it for attention. You seem to have good taste in lighting so I'm not gonna worry about you too much. ;P

How big is the room? I just put up pendants over my 2x6 island, and I think maybe they are too much for my kitchen, even though they match the fixture over the table in the adjacent eating area.

Fori- thanks for your compliment- that is exactly what I am concerned with; if having a pendant or 2 would fight for attentions(thats why I figured I would go with a simple one) an dI dont think I want a matchy match stained glass one, though I suppose if I saw something great I could consider it.
I am definitely doing the recessed lighting, just not sure if I should also do pendants. Maybe just recessed lighting and then maybe over the sink put a pendant or some sort of fixture?
Janwad, the whole kitchen is 15 by 20, and the island is 27" by about 55. how many pendants did you put up? I think for mine, 2 would be plenty.
Still open to comments.

I think 2 mini pendants would look great and update the look! Mine are small....only about 4-6 inches, and were considered "mini":

Maybe you could get a frilly floral-shaped artglass shade for your pendants in a soft color. Nothing too tailored...gee I really don't know lamp lingo.

We're in the middle of the same type of upgrade. With 8 foot ceilings, the mini pendants did not work for us over an island, especially with a cooktop in it. We went with a flexible track light sysetm with little halogen lamps on it.

I just ripped out the soffits, ours extended 18" past the wall cabinets, giving a closed in feeling. Just watch out for hidden problems in the soffits - I had to re-route 7 power cables that were draped around inside the soffit. The original electricians did not bother to drill through the top plates to run the wires. I've heard that lazy plumbers also will drop waste lines below the ceiling level if they can hide the pipes in the soffits.

Hmm I am getting more confused, but I suppose in a good way:) Do most of the photos I see with minipendants over island have celings higher than 8 ft?
We did originally check the soffits (like back in October) by drilling holes at the ends of them and shining lights through. There is one pipe thingy that the contractor said will not be an issue but will need work. no wiring or any other issues thankfully.
I woudl love to see the picture of what you got, gdoke or anything like that.
I wish someone would post a picture of just the thing so I could stop trying to make decisions already. Can you all relate?

How about these recessed light chandeliers--I have 3 of them over my island. I have 9 foot ceilings.

Islander,
I love your recessed light chandeliers, will you please tell me the manufacturer, etc? Thanks, H

Those recessed chandeliers are gorgeous - but I wonder if they aer too formal for my space.
In the meantime... does this look any better or is the original one better?I just realized that I dont know how to add another link to put the original one in the post...

Here is a link that might be useful: 2nd potential?

You can customize the recessed light chandeliers. You can put less and smaller crystals on it. Mine are 8 medium size. One option is 4 small ones. Beaux Artes is the manufacturer and they have the best customer service!

Here is a link that might be useful: Beaux Artes

My island is 7 feet long. The pendants are 7 inches
wide and 9 inches long. The bottom of the glass pendant is 30 inches above the island. The ceiling is 8 feet.

So pretty! I am surprise how huge your island is and the lights do not look skimpy there at all.
My island is so much smaller..but it does seem 2 pendants would work well. no?

Ok -if I did 2 pendants over the island which is 50" long (may add a few inches but not much when I do new countertops)... and the pendants I am considering are approx 7-9" in diameter.... how would I position them? How far apart should they be to not looked crowded in?
thanks...

Here is a link that might be useful: potential

and yet this one too.

Here is a link that might be useful: another option?

Looks like very ordinary to me, but I like it. Simple but it has its won beauty.

Here is a link that might be useful: tiffany ceiling lights

Also consider the needs of the people using the kitchen.... I'm about 5 foot 7 and have horrible eyesight; my husband is about a foot taller than me. To have pendants that would give me the light I need, they would need to hang low enough that he would hit them occasionally with his head. At the same time, I am prone to migraines, and the thought of a concentrated light source so close to me is intolerable. So, we have cans on a dimmer, which saves both of our heads.

Oh my I see this has been rejuvenated! I ended up with another thread because I kept finding potential lights. It's funny because the one luckytiff liked, I did like but no one else seemed to think it belonged... I ended up ordering this one about a month ago and of course, it is out of stock everywhere, but will be shipped in mid april which is now not so far away. As for the height, they will be over the island only, and I plan to hang them on the high side.(if I remember correctly, they should typically be between 30-40" from the countertop. mine will be that but towards the higher spectrum)
{{!gwi}}