Thanks Romy -- Almost exact - mine is 39 x 75. I'm going to add two recessed lights over the island and just do the 3 pendants along the peninsula. I'll probably change out the other hanging fixture in our seating area. Maybe to a pretty flush mount of some sort. Good thing is, I don't have to choose anything right away. He can just install the boxes and I can take my time.

Cool, Anglophilia. I didn't get a KD for my new kitchen because I (like you) didn't trust HD or other big boxes on doing it, and nor did I seem (as far as I know/knew) to have a KD in this area not associated with a line or so of products that I'd be forced into choosing from. Instead, I basically utilized the resources here at the Kitchen Forum to hone down some of my thought processes, and they helped me make a better kitchen than I would otherwise have created on my own. (Under counter drawers; ice, water, stone, fire; landing spot before fridge, induction range, a prep sink, even the brand of sink I went with... a few other things like the entry to the pantry...) Yes, I didn't take every bit of advice, but I certainly appreciated it all. If I knew of a reliable KD in my area who I knew up front (this is hard to determine...) wasn't promoting his or her own line, I may have considered. And again, as long as I have the choice to do certain specific elements to my own needs, after fully considering suggestions I will usually take, a KD could be very useful. EDIT: As of this date, are there things I wish I had done that I neglected? No. Well, discounting the things the GC didn't do that I requested, but I'm so done with 98% of the build (most right but ... ) that I no longer care about those little specific things... place for vertical pans... the amount of drawers vs cabs I originally specified... I gotta remain focused elsewhere.

because sometimes they just cause visual clutter, like here where if someone is at the fridge and sink respectively you will be looking "around" the pendants. Also with doors that open toward where the pendant hangs, it could just be in the way, and there is also a chance they could look off center to the room IDEA: blow up two balloons, or even take plastic cups, string them up, and blue tape them to the ceiling this will give you a good visual aid.

I think lighting-wise either option can work well. I don’t have pendants because they would not have worked aesthetically. I have plenty of lighting without them. Do what works in your kitchen.