I can just tell you what we're doing....we have can lights around the perimeter (4 total I think?) and one over the sink. Then there are 2 pendants over our free standing island (just a straight island, not "L" shaped like yours. Then we have a chandelier over the breakfast table (and yes, a ceiling fan in the adjoining great room).

I think pendants over the island are nice and would likely put in 3 over your island.

We also have power in the island (new construction), a requirement of mine since that is where DD and I like to bake and be able to plug in the Kitchen Aid!

HTH's.

I don't think it is a code violation to have the boxes inside the cabinet. My current island is done that way. The boxes have covers to protect them from items inside the cabinet. I have had an island without power, but the home was older and the island was added so not sure if it was up to code or not. The biggest problem is how to get the power there if you decide you need it. You would need to add a column and that would take away from the openness.

Is there lighting planned under the cabinets? If your cabinets are dark as pictured, you will need to consider that in the light count. Downlights, even those with wide beam spread, are designed to spot an area with a pool of light. You would likely need quite a few to make sure you cover all your work areas. To get advice on an actual lighting layout with a count, you will need to post dimensions for your kitchen and the island.

I have seen many beautiful kitchens pictured with chandeliers, downlights, and pendants mixed. Pendants can add a lot to the overall look of a kitchen and give off more general lighting.

In our part of Connecticut, you'd need to put an outlet on the island to meet code.

I think that the outlet is required by code, but you might be able to request a minor variance. Best do that before settling on your final floorplan. The worst case scenario would see you cutting a small channel into the existing floor - not the end of the world.

As far as lighting goes...I don't think that there is such a thing as too many lights as long as they are on separate circuits.

In our plan for the 15 x 15 foot food preparation area of our own space we have a total of 17 pot lights, one large chandelier type fixture over the island, undercabinet lighting and lighting inside the glass-fronts.

These are on 8 circuits, and 6 of those are on dimmers.

It would be very frustrating to finish a nice reno and find that you neglected to put enough light in the important places, or that you couldn't adjust the lighting to get the right ambience for entertaining.

Glancing at your layout I would think you'd need at least three task lights over the cooktop run, two task lights over the sink run and at least three, if not five, over the island. It would be nice if these were on three separate switches with dimmers.

I'd be tempted to add a nice attention getting fixture over the island, on its own dimmer.

Then I'd put two rows of three evenly-spaced general lighting pots for ambient room lighting, wired independently again.

Good Luck ! :)

The National Electrical Code requires that islands have outlets. It's a BIG safety issue, as otherwise you'd be draping extension cords over aisles every time you wanted to plug in your food processor or spice grinder, etc. Depending on your location if this is a slab, an expert electrician can run a cable drill under the slab and then drill down from the top to create the proper conduit for electrical to be run without disturbing your finished floor. But, since your layout would greatly benefit from a prep sink, you might contact a terazzo expert about restoring/repairing a cut channel in the floor and go ahead and run your drain and water lines at the same time you're doing electrical.

Thanks everyone for your help. Much appreciated!