May not work for you but we had a center kitchen light. We put in an island and wanted pendent lights over it. We went to Lowes (or any box store) and told the lighting clerk the situation and he showed us what to do.....they had a track (for want of a better word) that fit on the ceiling over the island. The wiring from the center light went into the end of the track. The pendants clip into the track and now we have three pendant lights centered down our island. Sorry no pictures.

Actually the next post relates to the other thing I forgot to mention. One popular idea for a smaller island is to have a light that is two pendants, but only one mount in the center. Sort of gives you the best of both worlds if you want two lights, but no worries about studs, etc.

Thank you both! I would post some pics soon - kitchen is not ready yet but I'll try this week-end. Not sure how expensive also would be to redo everything...
When did your GC ask you where to cut the holes and how far apart? I am thinking this should've been done after everything is ready but I guess everybody was busy finishing the electrical etc... I should've been planning more carefully...

Akcorcoran: I love your kitchen - you made the right decision - one light fixture looks more elegant - great choice!

Thanks for the kind words - I can't tell you the AGONY it took to get to that decision! I had mockups with all different lighting scenarios (two pendents, one mount, two drops, the one light, etc.) - and went round and round.

Really, the reason I mostly wanted two was because I see all the pictures on here or Houzz where people have these beautiful islands with pendants, but I do think a small island is a different story. You don't want to overwhelm it with too much above, you know?

Yes, the time to pick where the lights are going is when they are doing electrical, which is often before you really now what you have planned, and for most, before they have the lights.

I actually HAD my lights originally - two lanterns - and did the electric for that, then they put in the island and it was going to be WAY too much over the island. So, they went back in and made it one light, did the drywall repair - and I paid a change order.

If you're ceiling is still open, it's easy - once they put the drywall up and have cut the holes, that's when it's a little trickier. Still doable, but tricky.

I think you are absolutely in a situation where you can make a change now - and they have to respect it without a change order - if they did not inform you that there were studs that would not allow the lights to be where you wanted them placed.

They can't just "freelance" that decision - or they can and risk that it has to be redone (which is usually what happens.)

In reality, electricians usually plow ahead while doing all sorts of work - if it's not specified, they'll just work around a stud or problem and pick a spot. GCs usually aren't hovering around so they don't notice it until you point it out. I encountered that with where the four recessed lights that are around the island were going to go - our house is nearly 100 yrs old and there were some constraints there.

I wouldn't go into the conversation though without having a good idea if you're going with one lighting mount (for either one light or one lighting mount with two pendants on it) or two - they are going to want to know that immediately.

We don't care the stage you're in - snap a pic on your phone and post it. Open ceiling and walls is totally fine - can let us see the space?

and do you have your cabinet plan? A nice designer on Houzz mocked up my cabinet plan with the lights that I had picked - the two pendants or the one I went with, and that did the trick. I'd be happy to pay it forward for you. (Come to think of it, I need to track her down on Houzz and thank her!)

For an island that small, one pendant 1/3 the size of your island will seem balanced. I also like the idea of a single mount but two light pendant...that could work if you find one you love.

Here is a pic of the space - thank you all for the great suggestions!