I like the first one the best.

#1, but it would be better if we could see where it was going.....

And how big is #1? Your table isn't very large, so I'd be afraid of that one being too much for it. I love the metal trim on #1, is there something in the same family that isn't long/wide?

I like #2 becuase it is a bit different and unexpected yet still seems traditional to me.

I vote number 2.
Elegant, functional and distinctive.

1 or two, depending on sizes. I'd worry about a silk shade, too, but 2 is my favorite.

3 is a tad too outdoorsy for me!

Hi,
#1 fixture lenght is 38" and the width is 9". I think it will work sizewise. I love it too!!!

#2... love it!

I think #1 would look great. Concerning #2, I'd also be concerned about a fabric shade in the kitchen.

I like #2 (but check on 'cleanability', although it's not like you'd have it gathering grease from you cooktop!) and #3!

Love #2, but #1 is nice also. Get both, try them out and return the loser.

I personally prefer #2 as a fixture. However, I think the lines of #1 are a better oomplement for the narrow, rectangular shape of your table. Plus, you won't have the potential silk shade maintenance issue that comes with #2. Either way, both are lovely!

#2. First fixture is kinda big for a small table. Because its a billiard fixture, it doesn't have the other ?dimension? - and I think it will look funky.

That's what it's called...A billiard fixture. I think those are meant for much larger tables, or I've seen them used over long islands...You'll only have 8 inches of table length to either side of the fixture.

Go with #2. I agree that #1 may be too large and one dimensional (especially since it is your only fixture). Besides #1 looks a lot like other fixtures, while 2 is much more unique. Just try and keep it clean!

how wide is #2? i like that one but depends on dimensions. all are nice choices!

#1 would be my choice

I'll be the lone vote for 3, as long as its large enough; doing a lantern style over my own, so I'm partial... :) But it does need to be substantial to look right. Good luck!

I vote for #1. We have silk shades on our chandiler that is in the kitchen. The first set of shades got burn marks from the light bulbs (I even used low wattage). The silk shades also get a greasy dust in the kitchen and are a little difficult to clean.

LOVE # 1

#1 for me too.

Hard to judge not knowing the size/shape of your table and room. I'll be odd gal out and vote #3. #1 looks more like something I'd expect to see over an island.

I absolutely LOVE #2!

I vote for #2

#1 is the prettiest, IMO, but like others have said would only really work over something rectangular.

I'm going to go with the minority and vote for #3. But I'm also partial to that outdoorsy, rustic look. All of the fixtures are nice, so I don't know if you can go wrong here!

Ok, here are some pictures of the table we have in the kitchen and where the fixture will be..
The size of fixture #2: 28"H and 20" dia. It is made of organza hardback shade on the sides and a glass diffuser shade on the bottom.

The size of fixture #3: 19 1/4"H and 15 1/8" dia. Do you think it is big/substantial enough to make an impact? or should it be bigger...

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I LOVE #1, but after seeing your table and the area where it will be going... it's much too large for the space (IMO). I'm not a fan of silk shades, so #2 is ruled out for me. But.... I think #3 is a keeper!! It will go wonderfully with your style and furniture/fireplace in the house. Definitely not something that you would see everyday in someone's house... and that's why I like it. Very unique.

So... my vote is for #3 (after seeing your photos).

I really like them all, but for this situation I like #2.
Would you be willing to share where you found #3?
Thanks!

I was going to vote number 2 anyway but after seeing your table I definitely say #2. It's the right size, scale, and style. If you don't want the silk shade just look for a similarly sized drum pendant that's not silk.

I think number 3 works best with your existing decor.

dtchgrl,
I found #3 at lowes.com I think it is a new fixture since it says that will arrive in store June 30th, 2009. I like the price as well $153.75...

hogar-
i love the second drum shade light. i am so sorry about my lighting that i chose now and want to replace it. i so want a drum shade light over my small table. it looks like we have alot of the same tastes too. i noticed the hanging sconce in the background on one of your photos in the living room. i don't know if you remember my sconces that are very similar. How are your somoma tiles coming? i could not wait for them to start mine. back to the lighting, i'm not sure if you have an island or not, but you could do two of the lantern style fixtures over the island and do the drum shade over the table.

Can I change my mind? After seeing your table I realize that #1 is too large for the table. #3 would look nice.

I like 2 and 3 (don't like 1 at all), but after seeing your decor, I'd go with 3.

I've found lighting to be one of my hardest decisions! I think I've read somewhere that a fixture over a dining table should be approximately half the length of the table and for the width come no closer to 12 inches from the edge, unless mounted high (so people don't bump heads on it). I'm not sure about how important it is to stick to a formula like this and Im sure designers who know what they are doing break the rules all the time. Anyway, you might want to ask about sizing over on the lighting forum. All that said , I do think #1 is probably too long for the space.

#2 is a really gorgeous fixture. I'd be worried about a silk shade in the kitchen, too, though. Not sure if the width is a big deal (20 inches on a 36 wide table) would give you 8 inches to the edge, width wise - but it's a narrow table - if you go with this one, you may want to raise it up just a bit (would avoid stains that way too).

I love lanterns and have recently seen some exceptionally pretty photos showing them as a single fixture over an island (I also love this look) or singly or in multiples over a dining table. They are also stunning in a foyer or entryway. I think Pottery Barn currently shows a large Bell Jar lantern over a breakfast table, in fact - very pretty. Another thing a lantern (or an informal chandelier like the one you have there now) has in its favor IMO is that it does not block your view to the outside door or through to your family room as a solid fixture would -ie you can see through and around it.

I guess all this means my vote goes to #2 or #3!

While I love the drum shaped light, it's really beautiful, I don't think it works with the style of your table, I think 3 is best.

After seeing your pictures, no. 3 is my vote. Would look great in that room. No. 1 IMO is for an island or a pool table, No. 2 is too formal looking.

Having now seen the table -- as well as the adjoining room - I'm now switching my vote from #1 to #3.

These are all pretty fixtures but I would not pick any of them.

I like diffuse light. If you are sitting at the table, you will see a bare bulb in #1 when you look up. I have this type of fixture and am not crazy about seeing the bulb. Also, as others have said, it is rather large for your table. #3 will also have glare from the bare bulb, more so because of the clear lantern, and will cast shadows. I like #2, but would not want a silk shade.

So, I would keep looking.

Pretty rooms, Hogar, very inviting. One of the things you may want to consider is how the illumination from #3 will "scatter" into the broader area & possibly interfere with TV watching in the sitting area. That type of light can come off as glaring in a situation like yours, and send back brilliant reflections from TV's and glass like the door/window beside your table. One of the reasons it's so useful when hung high (above eyelevel) where the light can bounce off ceilings & illuminate a fairly large space.

Can't see if your current chandelier has candle shades or not. If it doesn't, you already know how unshaded light will work for you. The bulbs grouped at the center of fixture #3 will concentrate the dazzle effect, rather than space it out as the candles of your current fixture along the perimeter do. If you choose that type of light, I think you'd be better off with one enclosed at the sides in marbled/slag/alabaster type of glass rather than open-framed for over your table. A glass type that picks up the creamy colors in your brick that you've accented so well with your current fixture, centerpiece & table lamp by the couch.

Choices 1 & 2 will focus the light on the table while providing general gentle light. Don't think #1 will be out of scale to the table or the entire area, and like the way the three circles of light will pool on the table, as well as the see-through design when looking from the kitchen towards the brick wall. Billiard lamps are very useful over rectangular surfaces, whether counters or tables, for giving a clean illumination without glare at eyelevel - one reason they're so popular.

I like #2 as well, because of it's lines, soft diffused light & shape contrast to the table. I'd prefer it with an opaque glass shade, agreeing with others that it will be prone to grunging so near the kitchen. How would a round fixture look in the long view & entranceways or other views to the space? If not centered in a pleasing way, rounds can look unbalanced in the total perspective.

If you can visit a light showroom, go & look at how each type of fixture really illuminates, what shadows it casts & what feelings it gives you. Better showrooms can cut off or dim other fixtures so you can better determine the qualities of the fixture that interests you. Pick the brains of the salespeople there - you don't have to buy from them.

Over the years, I've gone so far as to jury-rig mock-ups of fixtures, out of whatever's at hand - cardboard, paper, string, plastic dishes & cups - to get a better idea of how it would really play in an area. Even a broom handle laid on your table with dishes set along it to represent where the three lights would land on the table (depending on how high you hang the fixture) will give you a more 3-D idea of whether it will work in the case of #1. Someone should really come out with some type of visualization model for fixtures, considering how expensive they've become! But homemade mock-ups have really helped me with light pattern & scale.

From your 3 choices & not being able to walk in your space, I'd go with #1. I'd discount #3 for glare & shadows it may cast from the clustered light in the metal casing hung at a height appropriate for a table. Number 2 may work with another type of shade, but I'd have to play with the shape in the setting to determine that.

Whatever you decide on, if you don't have a dimmer switch on your current fixture, think about installing one. I like the ones with the tiny tab that slides up & down next to the switch rather than the round rotary ones. Easier to work & to keep clean. Hope this food for thought helps clarify your options!

Sorry for my delay in getting back to everyone!!! Thanks so much for all your replies.

Vasue, thanks so much for your wonderful suggestions and wise advise. I really appreciate the time you took in order to help me out.

You guys really opened my eyes to issues like shadows, reflections and scatterness of light. We are planning in the future to hang a flat tv in the mantle of the firplace so I really need to consider the glare coming from the light fixture.

#1 I really like but I too am concerned about the size compared to my table. It might look funny.
#2 I'm concerned about the silk shade after seeing how dusty/greasy the one I have gets. Maybe once I get a better ventilation system/hood might decrease the problem.

#3 This fixture doesn't have any glass around it, so I think it will be a problem with shadows and glare vs the TV. Also, like a couple of you pointed out, to look good it has to be big/substantial enough to create an impact. I'm not sure if the size is big enough to do that job.

Do you know of any other bigger lanterns that might work for my kitchen??

So, I think I'm back to square one...If anyone has any suggestions of chandeliers that might work for my table and my house, please send them this way...THANKS!!!

P.S Would this style work? This one is from pottery barn

have you looked around for something similar to #1 but with maybe only 2 globes? check the website of mfgr?

hogar, I almost purchased something like that, but in the end I didn't want to have to always be dusting out the inside and clearing out the dead bugs.

I think black would look really good in that space, or some sort of metal-- I would do something like brushed nickel, but bronze would work fine too. There are a lot of beautiful warm colors in that space and I think black or a silvery-color would offset them nicely.

What about something like this (if you want bronze): http://www.circalighting.com/details.aspx?pid=2018&cid=4

or this (in either bronze or satin nickel, which I think would look awesome:
http://www.circalighting.com/details.aspx?pid=1762&cid=4

If you used satin nickel you could echo it in a couple of elements in the other rooms-- nothing too much, and you wouldn't even have to do that.

At any rate, circa is a fun place to look! Have fun!