kats- I've been thinking about your space and while I like the pull down style pendant lamp, I think it's too "lightweight" for your space. The soaring windows, strongly colored wood and copper table need some more oomph IMO. Check out the lights by Meyda, a company based in Oriskany, NY that makes a lot of their fixtures in the US (their stained glass is from China) and offers some neat stuff. The link below is to their on line catalog of rustic type lighting, and it's in Adobe, so it's a bit laborious to scroll through, but most on line retailers don't have their entire collection. We have a few of their lights in our house and are pleased with the quality of the product and the style. They also offer some interesting finishes, such as copper, that might blend nicely with your table. The link to their Craftsman series is below. They also have stained glass, contemporary and lodge type lighting on line catalogs. Good luck- sandyponder Here is a link that might be useful: Meyda Tiffany on line catalog

In a large kitchen, you can do pendants and an island hood, but you've got to avoid the "spaceship invasion from Mars" look of all the stuff dangling from the ceiling looking for a place to land. More than about 3 pendants (including the hood) in a single space starts to look busy, unless they are something like just an odd number above a distinct seating area like a adjacent but separate breakfast bar. For your size sub-continent, it could possibly work and not be too busy. However, the minimal approach is always the safest. You don't want too many focal points. Your eyes will bleed trying to take it all in. (Can you even reach to clean such an island?) If you aren't using a visual planning aid like some design software, then mock it up with cardboard boxes for the island and balloons hung from above to mimic the size of your island hood and any pendants you might be considering. A combination of recessed spots and floods can make sure your island is well lit without pendants if the addition of a pendant or two is too overwhelming. Get your lighting designer involved. If you don't have one, go to any relatively expensive lighting store in town and ask for their most experienced staff designer and buy at least a couple of lights from them to justify the time they spend with you even if the lights aren't for your kitchen area.

Fishies: I think you're on the right rack with the 7" bell. We have the 16" Rejuvenation globe that is your second choice in the OP, flushmount in a bedroom. It's perfect for that application -- large enough to have some visual weight, casts a nice overall glowing light. But as linelle mentions, I think a downward-focused light will be better over a peninsula, better task lighting. The globe would be good as flushmount or pendent general kitchen light or over a sink. Since the bells are bit smaller diameter, could you do three over the peninsula? FYI, I think you'll love the Rejuvenation schoolhouse series. You can tell the stripes are hand-painted (we have red and yellow ones). Plus, they're made in Portland instead of China! We've always had excellent in-store and online service from them. Good luck.

I think you are referring to monorail lighting. It definitely has a more modern vibe and is not for everyone. The reason I think what you have now does not work well is that the shades are very small/narrow and you probably have lower watt bulbs in them. It looks like you have recessed lighting as well. Is that not working for you as far as lighting the sink/prep side? I can't quite tell, but the spacing may be too far apart for the size--plus it looks like you have tall ceilings and all this has an impact. Do they cast a shadow when someone is working on the prep side? What I'd do is make a scaled drawing of your kitchen with the light fixtures and wattages and take it to a good quality lighting store that helps with lighting design and see what they recommended since you already spent money on one solution that is not working. When we remodeled our kitchen the place I ordered my lighting from did our lighting design. In many cases, their recommendations differed than my electrician's and most cases I went with their recommendations and am very happy that I did. The kitchen forum is another source you can solicit feedback for your lighting problem. I'd love to see something like this in there Here is a link that might be useful: Schoolhouse pendants