Thanks for the responses. No, i never did replace the other pendants. I am still working on those but now wondering if I should just do recessed lighting instead of having pendants at all. I do love those other lights I found and maybe I can convince DH to change those, after all, he keeps complimenting the painting every time he walks by it. (he was a little disgruntled spending so much money on it in the first place), but I think he also LOVES It.. Come to think of it, I am not sure the other lights will look as good with our backsplash (we added it towards the end of the summer).

capegirl - Thanks! The picture is incorrect as I couldn't show a "hollow" cabinet of the bar area. There would be nothing underneath the 18" bar top (save for an angled support brace). Good question on the room size and supports. Most of that room already exists. We are adding about 3 feet in the Southern direction and about 6 feet in the Western direction. But it's a good question for me to speak with the architect about. He is busy trying to figure out how the roof line will work and how it will tie into the existing house.

I am doing a kitchen remodel which will increase our kitchen size (going from galley style to a U-shape with an island. Proposed layout from the cabinet builder is attached (I penciled in the bar top and I put circles where the cans approximately will fall). The island is sized to be 64" x 83" -- a prep sink in one corner and seating (15" knee spacing) on opposite sides of the sink. This puts the bar top off center of the bases. My wife has a preference of a particular 6" pendant. My questions are: 1) Do I install 2 or 3 pendants? (two looks too far apart for the 6" pendants -- three looks too close together at times to me) 2) Do I put the pendants on center of the bar top or on center of the base? Center of the base will put the pendants on the kitchen/food prep side, but I worry about symmetry. Your thoughts and recommendations are appreciated! If you need additional information or have thoughts outside of the two questions, I would appreciate them! Thank you!

We do outlets all the time in island. Usually you have a decorative side panel on the island ( 3 /4 thick plus the cabinet box is 3/4 thick = 1 1/2" ) A shallow electrical box is about 1 1/4" so no additional columns are needed. Is a shallow box not allowed anymore?? Can you do something like this?? You can also shorten the cabinets by 3" or 1 1/2" and add a base end panel to create a channel and space for the outlet. We have been able to do outlets under the seating overhang but they had to be vertical and as close to the front edge of the cabinet as possible. Do you really need 4? I do not know how that is calculated - sorry. Please post the resolve to all of this - it will be very helpful to others. I also agree with moving the prep sink - either switch it with the microwave or put it to the left of the stove. I have several customers we've done that for and they love having a totally clear island and the convenience of a sink right by the stove. Good luck! Post pics when done!