I can't speak to how it will look, but I do know that when you have pendants near a fan, if they are on a cord, as opposed to a rod, they will sway in the breeze the fan creates. Just something to think about. Also, the remodeling forum gets more traffic than lighting so you may want to cross-post.

Hello Heidi I do wish we could take the soffit down. Our concern (and that of our carpenter) is that we will not be able to match the texture in the ceiling and will have this odd stripe running across the kitchen. Honestly, there are so many issues here and we are just not able to fix everything. yes we have popcorn ceilings (tho a lighter popcorn than some I have seen) and the same ceiling would have to be redone down a hallway and into a family room as they run together. Anyway, the popcorn is a small part of what needs updating. We are just trying to do some small things that will improve the overall look. The cabinet over the peninsula will HAVE to make things look better, right? Sorry to rant, you are fortunate to be able to redo your space. I hope it turns out to be everything you want and that you enjoy it for many years to come. jr

Thanks for all of the input!!! It sounds like a pendant may not be in my future. I loved the idea of it but as I was looking at it more, I was worried that there might be too much going on there. I was having second thoughts and wanted to get opinions from all of you. Holly-Kay: we are planning on changing out the chandelier above the table to a bronze finish to tie in with the darker wood and fireplace things. But I see how a pendant above the sink might be too much. Snookums2: we removed the dark screens and it looks much better. I can't wait for everything to get started! I thought about tiling to the ceiling but wasn't sure since our cabs don't go to the ceiling. We are going to add a taller crown but nowhere near ceiling height. That may be the subject of another post. Nosoccermom: great idea about hanging a balloon. I don't have photoshop but maybe I could cut and paste something there and post again. Thanks for the suggestions!

We have a corner sink on our peninsula. Our peninsula has 2 pendants; the corner sink has one recessed light above it. The pendants are controlled by one switch, the recessed light another. The light over the sink is independent of all other lights, recessed or not. Note that the sink light is also quite close to the crown molding. Personally, I think it looks fine. The reasoning behind this setup (yes, it was deliberate), is that when I'm at the sink I only need to have the light above it on, not the pendants, which aren't over it, nor the other recessed lights, which would be behind me and cast a shadow over the sink. I don't know how far apart the lights are (I'm not at home right now to measure), but I do know that the lights work the way they were designed to. I'm happy with them.