My Aunt Marian had two of these in her living room. I loved them. As a 3 or 4 yr old child, I can remember digging my toes into her white flokati supershag rug, my hair tangled up in the blood red velvet drapery, staring up at the velvet bullfighter paintings on either side above the white vinyl foldout couch. I thought those lamps were where the tomatos came from to make her meatball sauce. (They were the same color). Man, I miss those meatballs! Her house was so cool!

I've never seen pendent lights above a bed, but there's no reason you can't do it. They also make wall mounted reading lights which is another good option. Google "wall mount reading lights" Here is a link that might be useful: Reading light example

We used hanging pendants made by Roost. They only sell to wholesalers who then retail them. We bought ours locally, via our builder, from a design center so got a deal. Don't know hwat you can find in your area, but I have provided an online link below. We also used the Edison-reproduction, multi-filament bulbs they show in the pic. They are about 11 bucks each w/ shipping, but look waaaaaaay cool, esp. when dimmed, and provide all the light you need when at full power. If you go that way, order some spares. We have not had a burnout in 4 years, but we do not use them daily. Also, we did not want a track sitting across our ceiling to steal the eye away from the task lighting hanging below. Close-up of pendant: http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/details.php?classid=2575&productid=20072&defval=images_products/20072-Cylinder_det.jpg&title= Edison bulb: http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/3690 This isn't the greatest pic, but will give you and idea what they look like on our large island. There is seating for 3 on the right side of the L. Here is a link that might be useful: Roost retailer link

Schoolhouse style pendants would be a nice update that would work well with your traditional cabinetry. Something like this or this for examples. Lots of variations from all manufacturers, in any finish you are looking for.