Our two 13" pendants were just installed over our almost 9' island. I'm glad I went with two 13" rather than three. IMO, they fill the space over the island just fine.

I will have a 9' island in our kitchen. I am also going to have 2 lantern style pendants over the top. Sounds like our kitchens are going to be similar. Good luck!

Here is a picture of my friends new house. Please don't mind our two boys in the background. Haha! We were visiting them at dinner.

Thanks folks --- you have been very helpful!! My gut was telling me 2 but I needed validation.

I have a peninsula, not an island, but it is about 10' and I am doing two. I like the look as it is not as busy, and I love lanterns. :-)

I will have an 8 1/2 foot island, and have selected a linear suspension fixture linked to below. It will be a clean look, which I hope will work for my kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: linear suspension for kitchen isl

What about wattage --- what would you think is the minimum amount of wattage you would need? I like some pendants at Pottery Barn and although they are 14" they are only 60 watts each. I thought I should get a minimum of 100 watts each but what do you guys think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Pendants

I have a 104" island and three 8 1/2" pendants. I think three 12-14" pendants would begin to look crowded, so two would look better. I like the way that three pendants distribute 60W of light down the island.