I think your electrician is really referring to the fact that over a table you should have a hanging light. It doesn't have to be a chandelier in the formal sense, but a light that is an appropriate distance above the table. It can be an informal bowl pendant, sedate drum pendant, funky shell fixture... just something that hangs approx. 30" - 36" above your table depending on the height of your ceilings.

Our new custom build sounds identical to yours and we will have a chandelier over our table! Actually, it's the same, but smaller version of the dining room one.

Will your kitchen table always be in exactly the same place? We move ours when we have parties or when the highchair comes into use... In those circumstances a pendant light would become a problem.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still not sure what I'll do. I'm having some difficulty finding a bowl style fixture that I like in my price range.
remodelfla, thanks for the info about the height it should hang at. It will give me a better idea on how a hanging light may look.

Try Bellacor and LIghting Universe... maybe Lamps Plus too. They have filters that allow you to choose whatever parameters you want to search.

I have a crystal chandelier over my dining room table, and this light fixture (in bronze) over my kitchen table:

This fixture is not so "informal" but compared to the crystal chandelier in my dining room, it is. I wanted it to be clear which room was the formal dining room, and which was the casual.

I think a multi-light hanging fixture over the kitchen table gives the best light, because it spreads the light over the whole area. There are many informal "chandeliers" out there.

I am also in the hunt for lighting. Jeannie, the chandelier you posted is beautiful. May I ask where you got it?

Many thanks!

One of the last lights I needed was also in a sort of "breakfast room" type area and I finally picked something over the weekend! I'm not even sure we'll end up putting a table in there - it may turn into a slightly more formal sunroom instead since I think I want to put a small sofa in there. Anyway, I like the look of hanging lights and didn't want anything too formal, however I wanted it to coordinate with the kitchen and dining room lights since this room adjoins both. So this is what I ended up going with:

{{!gwi}}

Thanks, Watchmom, that light fixture is from Circa Lighting. They have the most wonderful collection of light fixtures which they are always updating. That particular fixture also happens to be one of their most reasonably priced, so I was thrilled!

Here is a link that might be useful: Circa Lighting

Another option is a ceiling fan with a light kit.

a can of spray paint in a funky color can also make a standard chandelier appear more casual. I've seen some really cool ones done in colors like red, cobalt and even lime green. Just a thought.

I agree that a hanging light of some sort is needed over a table you will eat at.

Our very casual, hammered metal pendant light (Ironware International "Rosalie") is one of my favorite light fixtures.

Closeup - (which shows that even though we can't see it in person, it clearly is in need of dusting - wow!)