Aren't pendants and chandeliers basically the same, i.e., hanging lights, except in size/shape/design?

I have two small pendants over my small peninsula. The jury's still out. I think just one with a downward-facing shade might have been better. I wish I had done more thorough research about the dynamics of light before I bought my pendants and had the holes cut in the ceiling. I don't really use them all that much, only when I want to flood the kitchen with light. Changing them in the future wouldn't be a huge expense.

I'd put recessed: figure an area to benefit from a dimmer,in the mix. When I go to the cottage after a time, I don't enjoy getting the microfiber cloth and dusting lamps/shades/bases,[among other things]. Pendants are one more surface to add to the task:skip it.

Not that my plan is a good one...but we are doing 2 recessed with a chandy in the middle. This way I'm getting best of both worlds.

And you are not alone with PB, this is why I have a flickr account too. I use both. The PB will go "out" for days on me sometimes.

My pendants are lanterns and crazy, ridiculous, bright. So bright that I don't turn them on all that often. I also have some recessed and UCL plus a chandy over the bfast table. I am going to have the electrician install dimmers on all of them, except the UCLs, which already have dimmers. So I guess my point is that if your pendants are big enough...you will get plenty of light!

nini is right. It's not about the difference between can lights and pendants, it's about the amount of light and how high they are above the work surface that counts. Decide which one you like better, bigger pendants with more wattage, a larger number of small pendants with less wattage, or can lights, and go for it.

Thanks, everyone! I am attaching a picture of the pendant over the island. I took your suggestion, Bee, and opened a Flickr account, but realized it is limited storage and you have to pay to upgrade.

This is not my kitchen, but it shows the pendants. My kitchen will be identical in lay-out, and will have the stainless appliances, a lighter granite and medium stained maple cabinets. I would be getting these identical pendants - so, do you think they will provide enough lighting for the island if I am prepping? No doubt, nice ambiance for the evening and using just the pendants, but I want to be sure it is enough lighting for the island.

Because this is a beach/summer home, I will not be doing a lot of cooking, but the kitchen will be used.

The ones in the pic look like they are installed very close to the cook's face or head level. They look very small for the length of drop from the ceiling. I'd rather see one larger/wider fixture that was installed higher up.