I had a very large bell jar light over the landing of my stairs. The ceiling was very high in that spot though. My thought is when seeing these lights now is all the times I had to unhook the chain and clean inside the glass bowl and gingerly trying to not chip the edge of the glass when hooking the chain back up to the glass. They are pretty. Just thought I wanted to toss out. Easier to get to those to clean them often though. With a clear glass or non obstructing light or a lantern style light you can go a pinch larger IMO than having a solid metal light.

I agree with you Jan. Two larger pendants look so pretty over a nice long island.

If you were using Pendants like this Darlana lantern, would you choose two of the 17 inch lights?

I prefer a larger scale vs smaller if they are, "see through" so to speak and only two are being used which is what I personally favor. I love the impact yet depends on the rest of your home. A light such as the Darlana works well with so many different styles of adjoining spaces and is easy to pair with many other lights if they are close by.

Jan provided the measures above which I believe would answer the question. She mentions 18" so I don't think it's an issue with one inch.

Lanterns will be a bit taller, so be certain your ceiling height can accommodate the size of the light vertically....

I like the idea of two pendants and the glass cleaning problem mentioned by Porter really concerns me. The Darlana pendant is lovely but I was planning on a brushed nickel finish. Could anyone recommend a similar pendant that is available in brushed nickel?

I personally feel any silver tone would be great. You don't need to match the finish tone perfectly. You might google the one below provided in the link for other sizes. This however is 16" at widest point. It's not a high shine. Yet, Darlana would still work beautifully.

http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/millennium-lighting-3244-sn-3244-sn-corona-satin-nickel-four-light-pendant-2056836.htm