there is no min for celing height for pendents.....i'd stick to the low volatge pendents they look much better also hang on a thin coax cable as compared to a thick rod or thick wire....check out some of the applacation shots at lbl lighting web site and tech lighting web site.....pm with any questions i'm a lighting designer so can help out.....remember that pendents hang about 2.5 ft off a counter top....just above eye level.

Even if you remodel you will need lighting back over your stove run counters. 4 can lights in that kitchen are probably 2-4 short. IT will probably cost less than $800 for an electrician to install 4 lights and move the current ones to a better configuration, and another $200 for drywall patching of the ceiling. Alternatively you can use the pseudo can led lights that install into regular junction boxes, possibly even where your old can lights were ($38 each) . For now that might be a stop gap measure to have more lighting in the kitchen and fill up those holes without repairing drywall. You can also put them into your existing can lights so that all the lights match. Might be worth a try since they are returnable to HD if it doesn't work for you. They are much brighter than incandescents and fluorescents so you may find that you don't need additional lighting. When you do remodel you can reuse all those LED's so that your investment is not lost. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-6-in-Recessed-Soft-White-LED-Can-Disk-Light-CE-JB6-650L-27K-E26/203596700#.UU9bZTfko1A

Thought I would update the thread I started when I was trying to figure out what type of light to get for above the island with an 8 foot ceiling. Well here are some pics. We chose a pendant light we found (Juno onyx) at Design Expo. With our GC's help we got a flat ceiling mount/transformer (the one at the store was more conical) We wanted something with a low profile, because of the 8 ft ceiling. We love it. Thanks to all of you for your invaluable help. Here are some close up pics of the lights.

Thanks for the quick replies! Here are the pictures of the lights. Im not sure I have a look I’m going for, but I have looked at thousands of lights and these are the ones I liked. I want it to feel homey, but also pretty and I think the kitchen needs a pop that the lights can provide. I thought either of these would be good but when I realized how wide the Minka light is and how long the hvl esopus is, I realized I could use some help.