Randall Whitehead, a lighting designer recommends that if you put a chandellier over the center of the table that you put a small spot on each side and position the lights so they shine to the opposite side of the chandellier. This is difficult to explain without a photo. Do you understand what I'm talking about? He says this will give even light over the entire table surface. I'm going to do it and see what happens.

We don't have a formal dining room in our new home, but in our dining area right off the kitchen, we have an up-light. When the table is fully extended it's so big that one light fixture wouldn't provide adequate lighting. So we put those dreaded recessed lights in the box beams above each corner of the table. Everything is on dimmers. Rarely use the recessed lighting unless the table is full. Often the Grandkids like to play games around the big table, and it works just fine. Also, I loved the lighting in our previous home..a 1916 arts and crafts. It had an antique lighting fixture which was a down-light, but the shades were large enough so you didn't look right into the bulb. Then in the beams, were small antique single lights. Generally I don't like down-lights. A friend has the most beautiful craftsman style light with leaded glass in her dining room. They mounted it upside down so the bare bulb is pointing down, and the stained glass is toward the ceiling. Very annoying.

I agree, you can do one pendant. Think of this way...if you had a small kitchen table...24 X 36, you wouldn't think twice about putting a single light fixture above it, would you? I do think I'd try to make the fixture make more of a statement...in size, if not design. Not so big as to look awkward over the small "table" but enough to look like it's not an afterthought, but part of a coherent whole. And that's assuming that there isn't another fixture within spitting distance over say, a dining room table?

I think I would try to make it a design feature by using the same material as your present counter top but in a highly contrasting color or design, and then switch out your over head lights to go with the new contrast. Or, use a very different material from the countertop, but make it a bold choice. For instance, frosted tempered glass (and then you could keep your existing overhead lighting) or slate might be interesting. I think I would try to make it a litttle deeper than a typical breakfast bar to get the right balance. But in the end you are also going to need to move the lights and get some fairly skilled professional work to get a result that is seamless and looks “planned“. Is the material of your countertop precious? Getting a new larger countertop might be the cheapest option.