Hi! First - can you do 4" cans instead of 6? I think 6" cans are so big and 4" cans give off the same amount of light. also - what size are your island pendants? 18" may be correct spacing but it really depends on the light fixture. Maybe do a forward/front elevation of the island to be sure? Lastly - the bay area...what are you doing in that area? is it a table or a banquette? that will determine how you should place the cans in that area. if it is a table...those 4 cans there might not be enough light to eat there.

Hi @Margaret Carroll Interiors,

The island pendant is 10" diameter (https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/allmodern-oaklee-1-light-single-dome-pendant-w002395791.html)

The 18" is from the edge of counter to the light, with 30" spacing between the 2 pendants.

The bay area will just be a walkway since there's not enough space to put anything in that area.

Sorry! thats what I meant - 30" in between, not 18". the spacing is good for the pendants! Oh - thats such a big space to have nothing in! At least do some plants or low shelving? Just so it's not an empty space. I think your plan is good!

The way to avoid shadows is to place the cans centered over the countertop edge, 24"-25" out from the wall. You need cans over the working side of the island, also centered over the countertop edge. Pendants are accent lighting, not tasking lighting. https://www.proremodeler.com/right-way-light-kitchen

oh - and...adding under cabinet lighting is key!

The 36" from wall is not the standard for tasking kitchen counters. Counter edge placement is the base starting point. Your 6" cans and only ~42" spacing should be ok, as I've seen 6" placed even closer and it works for that genre of kitchen (but a more focused deep baffled fixture, not a flush wafer LED). Your ref light is too close to the 24" deep cabinet above it, lights do not have to align in a grid in many kitchen layouts. Your pantry should have a light too as the pendants do not throw to the side. Your huge open space is tough, I would probably just put 3 cans centered on and following the bay of the windows to highlight those while giving ambient light to the open space, which might also work with a future bar height cafe table or something you might put there.

First no 6" pots they are a dated look and often the electrician has a garage full he wants to get rid of. I like all LEDs 4000K in 4" pots for kitchens .I would do at least 2 more pots at either end of the island and make sure those pendants light the island not the ceiling.

@3onthetree where should the refrigerator light be placed? What the general rule of thumb for lights next to the wall if 36" is not the standard?

How about this layout? From what I gather, task lighting should be 24" from wall.

1. What should the spacing in between lights be?

2. How far off the wall should they be?

3. Is there a different rule for refrigerators and pantries?

There really aren't "rules of thumb," in a kitchen the typical purpose for lighting is to provide function for such a task-oriented space unlike any other space in the house. The "36" from wall" is just a general idea to lessen a hotspot on the wall from a recessed can, but that does not pertain to kitchen cabinets/soffits as your goal of lighting your hands performing on the counter is prioritized. The spacing between lights is based on the fixture size and style and how many lumens you would like, but usually after doing many you start to see distances that hover around an average dimension - not a "rule of thumb" - but you can say 6" lights are usually spaced 4'-6' apart and 4" lights are usually spaced 3'-5' apart in most instances for task lighting and/or high ambient levels. For most basic kitchen layouts of a certain caliber, that is enough for successful lighting without getting into specific cone throw and footcandle readings.

If you stick with 6" cans, these are probably the choices I would make:

Edited to add the DW and sink

@3onthetree, curious why no lights over the inner "working" edge of the island. @Michelle, where is the sink? There's probably something obvious in your plans that I'm missing.

This is what a lighting designer (at a lighting specific store) told me:

1) go to the lighting manufacturer's website and pull up the specs for you specific ceiling lights (can, wafers, discs, whatever). The info there will tell you what circumference of light the can will produce at your specific ceiling height to the surface you what to illuminate ie counter. You want to place the cans far enough apart that they just overlap that circle of light. So, mine (6" discs" are placed 48" apart; the first one from the side wall is 22". (This would also be true for spaces like your bay). This also tells you how many cans you need for a given area.

2) Tweak that positioning to be sure that open cabinets doors do not block the light from illuminating the inside of the cabinet. - usually just an inch or 3 of a shift.

3) Center the cans meant to light work surfaces over the edge of the counter (so, definitely NOT 36", which will place the light behind anyone working at the counter, and so cast a shadow onto the work surface.) This position will light cabinet interiors just fine.

4) Can placement does NOT have to be symmetrical in fact should not be if that compromises the most effective placement. Even more so than with cabinets, no one notices symmetry or asymmetry once everything is all in and in use.

This may sound like a big effort, but it really wasn't. I knew the brand and style of the lights I would use (had to use, because of ductwork in the ceiling) which made is pretty easy to track down the specs. After that, it is just measuring and tweaking.

I really don't get the "6" is outdated". This is a functional issue, not a style issue. Narrow beam track lights may be outdated, but that is because they are much more noticeable and noticed. Ceiling cans are not.

EDITED TO ADD: if you island is going to be used as a work surface, I don't think that I would rely on centered pendants alone. That puts the light in front of the person working there, which can produce issues with glare off the counter and in the eyes. Put two cans over the counter edge on at least the working side of the island. That will help to light the area on the left of the island, also.

@Focal Point Hardware thank you! are you referring to the original post/design?

@mcarroll16 36" deep island isn't enough ceiling space to have pendants with recessed lights. The pendants should be adequate task light for the sink and side preps if you choose a 'bulb' lumens of 900-1100 (Wayfair link calls for 60W incandescent, but bump up the 'bulb' to 75W+ equivalent LED). That would also be consistent with your 6" cans which should hover around 1000-1100 lumens. There is only a 24" DW, 33" SB, and 18" TrashBin which will be lit from the 6" cans behind it. When you crouch to access under the sink you won't block the light.

Interesting. Thanks! Our designer has put recessed lights and pendants on our 36" island. If it's too much I guess we can use the dimmers.

@mcarroll16 I just looked and you have a 48" aisle, usable base cabinets, a beam, and probably 4" lumenaires. You could probably get away with no cans for your island, but you have a different layout than Michelle. Though I probably wouldn't use cans with the pendants in your situation either, because if they are both on at the same time they will compete and the counter will have a strange layout of throw, and depending on pendant shade style they may have a shiner on them. If the cans are on a separate switch than the main kitchen cans that may be better. <<sidebar!>>

450 lumens at the counter is the minimum recommended level of light for task lighting. If you choose 4" recessed, you may have different beam patterns to use. Spot. wide spot and flood are some. Even though they may be the same wattage, the beam will affect the lumens at the counter. I'd suggest 33" in from the edge of the counter to keep shadows off your work as you cut something, for example. Cree makes the most efficient led bulbs, ime. Two to the left of the range and two to the right. The range hood shood include lighting. The led bulbs in your hood may offer examples you can copy. under-cabinet leds will add benefits. You'll need 4" recessed in 3" from the edge of your island for the working side.4 should be OK. Pendants are likely decorative. Ambient lighting for the aisles can be 6" or 4". Center on the aisles with dimmers. For 6" two on each long side of the island and one on each end. All lights on dimmers. I like 3500K bulbs.

We have a sink on the island. Our ceiling is approx 9.25 ft

Thanks @3onthetree! Very interesting. I'll hold further questions, don't want to hijack Michelle's thread.