>>>vate - I never thought about looking up and seeing the lightbulbs! Do most people have covered bottoms?It seems that most pendants have open bottoms. For narrow pendants I don't think that's a problem. For larger ones, you have this ugly bulb right there above eye level, and it can throw off a lot of glare too. >>>The pendants only fit 15 watt compact fluorescents - will this be enough light for my island? (I plan to have at least 6 cans in the ceiling of my 13' by 11' kitchen.Wouldn't be enough for us. We wanted lots of light directly above the island, not over the shoulder. But might be fine for you. However, those narrow pendants will tend to throw off more of a spot light than a broader light. Again, depending on where your canister lights are that might be fine for you. One word of warning - depending on what is above your ceiling, once those junction boxes are mounted up there for your lights, and your ceiling is finished, no matter how many or what type you end up choosing, moving them or changing them is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. >>>BTW, can you please tell me the name of your granite? I LOVE it!! Thanks. It's Cinderella Blue. Some of the money we saved building our own cabinets was invested in this granite! We got it at Earthtones Granite here in Atlanta: http://www.earthtonesgranite.com/html/cinderella_blue.html

My island is 58" x 105" with 8' ceilings. I went with two 13" Benson pendants. Perhaps it's because my ceilings are only 8', but I can't imagine having three of these in my space as they take up a large amount of visual space. I had considered going with three of the 7", but the consensus here was to go with the larger. Glad I did as they really do make a statement.

I have a similar sized L-shaped island (someone here once told me I had invented the "island-insula". I used five mini-pendants, three spaced over the long portion and two over the shorter leg. Since yours are larger, you might be able to do 2 or 3 (whatever will be needed for proper light) over the long portion and another one over the seating area.

Thanks all! Island dimensions are 4' x 3' and I am considering a Pottery Barn glass schoolhouse style available in 8" diameter/7.5" height. Fixture is also available in 11" size. Both are 75 watt. I need more light than one fixture can provide. I would prefer 3 lights but that may be too many for the 4-foot length. Seems that 3 lights would have to be hung about 12" apart and that might seem crowded with an 8" fixture. Thoughts?