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

It is a large kitchen and completely open to the family room. The center island is 128" (we refer to it as the cooking island). There are also perimeter cabinets and a 48" gas range. The hardwood floors are being installed now and the cabinets will be installed in about a week, so I don't have a good picture yet to capture the size of the space. We have 10 foot ceilings and an entire wall of windows, so everything is very open. I have attached a picture from a few weeks ago. It is from the perspective of the kitchen looking into the family room. The "island" you see is just the support for what will be the raised portion of the island (the bar top). I hope this helps.

Hi Lizzie, The bottom of the pendant should be at least 75-90cm / 30” from the surface of the island. Pendant lights should be hung around 72” from the floor to the base of the light fixture. Good proportion practice should be exercised when hanging lights over a kitchen island, with equal space left between each pendant. Approximately 75cm (this depends on the diameter width). Smaller diameters can support a smaller gap between each fitting. To help give a visual reference before installing the fixture, a clever trick is to hang balloons roughly around the size as the pendants, this will help visualize the space more accurately and help determine is the light will look right. https://www.mullanlighting.com/blog/correct-height-hang-pendant-lights-chandeliers/ I hope it works out for you! Your friends at Mullan Lighting.

Kelley - you’ll probably get lots of input here :) - my island is 5x10 (so a bit wider and a tad bit longer) but my pendants are “tiny” - but they’re our style (modern) and I’m sure some would say they’re too small. I say pick what you like!