HI -- It should not matter about lining up with what is behind . I am not a fan of having lights hanging down in a small kitchen . Very visually cluttered looking with lots of things hanging form the ceiling . You could solve the problem by having one long fixture like a lighting bar . I think pot lights would look better .

Option 2 is much better, at least when viewing from the position the photo is taken from. Can't even really tell from photo that they aren't centered over peninsula, whereas the misalignment with the line of the cabinet seam in option 1 is immediately obvious. (I have a similar situation in another room, and it bugs me.) Not sure if the slight asymmetry over peninsula will bother you when working there, but if you do add that shelf you may find that it balances out the lighting placement. Good luck!

My vote would be Number 2. Adding more than 2 for the island seems too crowded.

I agree w/ Flo M. on lighting shape. My line of sight goes across our island much like yours does across your peninsula. I didn't want something huge, what our lighting designer calls the "Martha Stewart look", as she popularized it. I also didn't want glare bombs. We went w/ a mother-of-pearl cylinder w/ LED bulbs. The cylinder doesn't block line-of-sight so you don't have to bob your head around to talk to someone on the other side, and the mother-of-pearl gives a translucence w/o the glare. The LED's produce almost no heat, and are energy efficient. Ours are on an LED-rated dimmer so make for nice mood lighting, if you will, when turned down. Flo's example was crackle glass, which would have a similar effect.

I agree the current trend is toward fewer, larger pendants, however, you do have to consider your space and pendants that are too large are going to not be the best look IMO. Open types like open lanterns can work, if that is look you want. You have used a good method for checking with the balloons. btw, they are too high! Make sure the electrician leaves extra wire so if you need them lower (they always hang them too high!) you can get them lowered. Extra chain as well, just in case.

I'd consider 4 pendants for each panel on the peninsula where you could put four stools centered on each light.

Thanks, everyone. We decided on two pendants with centering around the microwave/ future hood sight lines, which will also allow room for an upper cabinet or shelf. We also liked the idea of white pendants (had not considered before this post), and not overly large to dominate the space or block sight lines when up close. But, the good news is we can always change out the pendants if we decide we don't like them. The key issue was deciding on 2 or 3 holes in the ceiling! We are starting out with these 8" ones but we'll see how it goes... cheers!

Beth, those are gonna be beautiful! What kind of bulb do they use?

Great choice! Can't wait to see finished product!

Bruce - these will use LED bulbs.

Beth, ours use LEDs, too. Love'em. Just make sure you use dimmers rated for LEDs. I didn't know about there was a difference & the first dimmers I bought weren't. When the electrician installed them, he showed me the flicker the incandescent rated dimmer caused. I got correct ones & they don't flicker.

Where is your sink? I ask only because if your sink is in this island, then you will want lighting centered over it, no matter what is going on behind. You could do a can with pendants on either side, or three smaller pendants, but I wouldn't just flank the sink. If the sink is somewhere else, then ignore this comment entirely. Amazed that nobody has asked though!!

Hello again, folks! So we are currently in a debate over which of the following two pendant sizes to keep. We will be returning one of them. Would you guys mind helping me out one more time with this decision? The first is a 7 inch diameter pendant, the second is 12 inch diameter. Pros and cons to each style, but I have no clue which works better in the space. Holes are 36" apart, so the big shades are only 24" apart. 7" shades are 29" apart. Is there a clear winner? peninsula countertop will be 80 inches by 41 inches... Thank you!!! (I might start a brand new post for this as well...)

Larger for sure!

Hang a bit lower too. Maybe 2-3". I see they are on "posts" so do what you can to get them slightly lower. If they are head knockers then you have to deal with that feature as well. But I definitely prefer the larger pendants.

As often as I agree w/ Flo, I like the smaller ones better, not only for size but also for the bell shape.

Bigger is better!

I'm with Bruce. I usually like bigger, but I like the bell shape. Is there a bigger bell?

For what it's worth, I like the smaller pendants.

The smaller pendants look great!

Thanks again guys. I guess I'll mention my specific concerns and maybe someone can help address them? :-) Maybe they are non-issues!

I much prefer the style of the smaller one, they seem more modern and unique and keep the small space looking open. However, I WISH they were 2 inches or so bigger. (these are the only sizes.) The only concern is that they are too small for the space. Is that a legit concern or am I overthinking? Do they look weird in the space or a normal size?

For the wider ones, they definitely fill the space better, but my concerns are:

1. they look stumpy since the rods are short (18" from ceiling) and the bowl is so wide. The rod can only be extended in increments of 6 inches. So unfortunately they are stuck at that height. I am 5'8" so 6 inches lower is impossible.

2. They are too close to each other (24" between the bowls. I read that 30" was more ideal spacing between bowls.)

3. It is too close to the wall? The edge of the wide shade is only 18" from the wall. I originally intended to put a shelf there to fill the dead space on the wall. Do peninsulas look weird with dead wall space above them? Do I need to put a shelf there? If so, a 12" shelf would be 6" from the edge of the wide shade.

Please let me know what you think! thanks!

This photo perhaps captures my stumpy concern... The two lights next to each other show that the smaller one is a bit longer and hangs lower.... (1-2"). is it not a big deal or does the wide one look stumpy? thanks!

I still like the smaller one better. I like its size & shape, plus it has the metal rim around the bottom that sort of dresses it up a bit, to me.

Flo Mangan - knowing that the wider shades cannot be lowered, do you still favor them over the smaller shades, which hang 1-2 inches lower? (How big a deal is the height?) The large ones definitely have more glare in my eyes from above due to their height. thank you for your insights. :-)

I can see metal rim on larger ones in last post now. I see what you mean about glare from them, too.

Melissa - I prefer the shape of the smaller ones but I wish they were bigger. It was impossible to find a 9-10" shade that we liked, so now we have to choose between one that might be too small and one that might be too big, both of which have pros and cons. Trying to decide which is less of an issue - 1) large, close together, and too high or 2) too small and possible dinky for space. Thanks for the insights and suggestions!

Thanks, everybody! Very much appreciate the insight and the feedback. :-)

melissa - thanks for the photos. those are lovely but we were going for downward facing significant light output (not well lit kitchen) and also want a diffuser on the bottom to cut glare... we actually saw your third option online and really liked it, had to rule it out due to lack of diffuser. :-( The brand is Elk Lighting and our Chadwick style is only in 7", 12", and 16"... (they call it 8", 13", and 17"). thanks again! appreciate the ideas.