Hello all,

Looking for insight on whether/what kind of lighting I need over a 'moveable' island. From research I see that most people would recommend recessed lighting, but let me describe the space, and see if anyone has other suggestions. (Sorry there is a mess in the pictures, as we are building.)

I am converting my garage into an apartment (not a big one, only 500 sqft!) and the living/kitchen area is 20 x 12. (It is a partial conversion with addition, so there is some new construction--but somewhat constrained by yard/setbacks, just fyi.)

It has a 15 foot vaulted ceiling at about 45 degrees with two skylights. There is a French door leading into the 'living room' half, as well as a large window (60"x80") on the short side of that wall. On the kitchen side, the cabinets/counter are L-shaped with the short side of the L on the 20 foot wall. This is where there will be a sink and another window. There are no windows along the long side of the L (this is cabinets/counter/oven/fridge and behind this is another structure). However, on both of the 12 foot sides of this rectangle there is a large triangle shaped window. (See photos for that general space--only at framing stage.)

We intend to use this space initially for entertaining and guests when they visit as our house is very small. In the future, we are hoping our elderly parents will love it so much they will move in (right now they are far away and independent), or perhaps we will rent it.

The space has recessed lights and on the living room side there is a ceiling fan with a small, dimmable LED light. The kitchen area will have a light over the sink, but I planned to buy/build a counter-height moveable island for prepping/eating. We decided moveable for the times we have a large gathering and we might want to put a long table (larger than the island) there for more space. I wanted to put one or two pendants above the island area for extra lighting. I read that you shouldn't put pendants over a moveable island, but do you have other suggestions? If I do hang the lights, I would put them higher than a typical chandelier, and the island would only be small as the space isn't that big. The pendant(s) would potentially block the view from the living to the kitchen, so I thought glass, or perhaps one of those that pull down. The problem is also the sloped/vaulted ceiling is limiting my choices.

What do you think? Forget pendants at all? Or, if not, what type/design? Sorry about the mess!

Thanks for your input.

Kris