It depends how high they are.

Our nine foot island with pendants hung low enough to not glare in the eyes needed three. (we started with the two outside ones because one was backordered, they weren't enough.)

Depending on your style there are very minimal modern fixtures that can give you lots of light from a very small fixture. They do tend to cost a small fortune though.

Thanks! I'm thinking of something in this vibe, fyi:

Here is a link that might be useful: bell pendant

My island is about the same size - 3-1/2' x 10'. We have three pendants and I still think there are "hot spots" (spots that have shadows because the light doesn't overlap enough). I don't think there's any way that even three of those pendants you posted will adequately light an island your size except "ambiantly" (is that a word - what I mean is, it won't be great task lighting). But it will look nice :-)

Forgot to add, we did already raise ours once to cover more surface area.

A diffusing shade will produce a more even, and I think more pleasant, light than an opaque shade or clear shade. Also, to my thinking one of the primary advandates of a pendant is that it can illuminate the cieling, but this pendant won't. I think some people like opaque downlighting pendants like this for dramatic effect, but to me they just seem workbench like and dreary. Sorry to be harsh.

BTW, you can get extremely bright bulbs, 300W equivalent and higher are available. So you could easily get enough lumens for this island from a single bulb. It's really just question of quality & distribution of light, not quantity.

Thank you both so much for chiming in! Do you think globe lights would be better? Four lights is actually what I had imagined initially, so maybe I just need to trust myself (and your experience SJhockeyfan!) instead of the lighting store employee.

Just to throw another idea out there, we have 2 pulley lights with translucent shades over a 3'x7' kitchen table. Kids do homework at the table, and if someone needs more direct task light, we can pull down the light to be closer. But, no one has complained yet about needing more light for that :-)

I know it's sort of blasphemy to say so but we decided to forgo pendants altogether to keep the sight lines as open as possible. We used recessed lights instead.

Just a thought.

Its not so much blasphemy as not very good light! If my ceilings were lower, I'd consider that -- when I had a cabinet bridge spanning my work area, it was only 4-1/2' above the countertop. In that space I had only halogen floods built into the bridge and the light was phenomenal. (My current ceilings are 10', which makes doing this almost impossible)

I don't have any pendants. The necessary foot candles with even distribution makes recessed simpler and clean.
I am switching to LED as they become reasonably priced..

I concur that those opaque shades, while attached to a fab fixture, won't provide the right kind of light.

Will you have any can lights?

We have cans and three pendants going in over our island that is 14 ft. I love the pendants you selected but you would likely need more lighting such as cans as well. Just a thought.

Sorry, I should have said that we will have cans everywhere in the kitchen, except over the island. The ceiling there will be too high for it to be very useful for task lighting and the light store employee said they would probably cast weird shadows if placed too close to the pendants. We will have plenty of ambient light from them, though. I'm really trying to figure out the pendants from a task lighting/ dining lighting point of view.

atkillery, do you have cans directly over your island? If so, do they create any weird shadows with the pendants? I'd love to see your setup if there is a thread.

Think these would be better?

Here is a link that might be useful: Globe pendants

Those are beautiful Kiwi. Here is a site from where I purchased mine. I love mine and got a great deal. They have tons of cool choices at great prices too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pendants

Thanks, aktillery! They have some really great stuff. Actually there is a gold and white globe light on the first page that is pretty intriguing! It brings me back to the same question though: each one has only one bulb...How many is enough?

kiwi - Like all your selections, and wanted to add: did you see the "sweet cherry pendant in gold" on the site that aktillery posted?

One way to deal with your bulb situation is to just get 3 or 4 pendants and reduce the number of lights near the sink to one or two.

Kiwi, have you picked your wall lights yet? Your pendants should coordinate since they will be in the field of vision. Also, what material and color is your island?

I've been searching for pendants for many months now and am at the point of settling since my budget won't allow for the optimal solution. I have an 8' island and will have 2 pendants. I do have cans nearby but not directly overhead. I've determined I need at least a 10" diameter light with at least 75 watt each, preferably more. I intend to use LED bulbs. It's been difficult to find a pendant with diffused, down/up light that has the right size and wattage much less style. I started with the Feiss Parker (two 60w bulbs)
{{gwi:2141094}}

And the Feiss Cadence (two 75w bulbs).
{{gwi:2141095}}

Not satisfied with the style and price, I kept looking. I want a more contemporary style and will likely choose one of these.
George Kovacks 13", 150 watt max.
{{gwi:2141096}}

George Kovacs 16" diameter with three 60 watt bulbs.
{{gwi:2141097}}

Chromos with 12" diameter and 100 watt bulb.
{{gwi:2141098}}

I would like at least 200 watts for my island. I think you need multi light pendants if you only go with two. Are you far enough along to hang balloons to test different diameters and placement?

Hi, bbtrix! I love your choices. I can't do balloons yet, but I think I am probably going to go with more pendants. BTW- have you seen EGLO lighting? Since you seem to be looking for silver pendants, you may really like what you see there. Prices are awesome.

Here is a link that might be useful: eglo light for bbtrix

Thanks for the tip! I'll look through the site tonight. Feel free to send any other suggestions!

Wouldn't it kind of depend on what wattage the fixture can take, what kind of bulb it takes, and the style of fixture itself? Or if it has a reflector behind the bulb, or something like a diffuser over the bulb?

Like a 60 watt fixture that's a small open cone and no reflector or shield that uses a regular bulb would shed light differently than a 100 watt fixture with a wide cone with a reflector that takes something more like a landacape style bulb, or a 75 watt fixture that has a spread pattern of LED bulbs in it with a diffuser.

bbtrix, here's a 4 bulb pendant on sale. Kind of wishing I wanted silver!

Here is a link that might be useful: 400 watt pendant

BeesNeeds, yes of course you are correct- hence my disclaimer about wording in the original post. I think what I really wanted to ask is how to gauge the amount of light over the island, not just spacing pendants aesthetically.

Ooooh! Look at these!

Here is a link that might be useful: led pendant

Ok, I'm confused now, because I thought the original pendants that I posted were too "downward" but this thread is saying that task lighting should be directed downward. Can anyone... (can't say "shed a little light"... can't say "illuminate") ...help me become more informed? :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: island lighting thread

Kiwi, the last one you linked IMHO, is one that solves many of the problems yet for me it is out of bounds for budget. I initially was not going for the silver/chrome family as I wanted some contrast, but I finally bought a chandy that I need to coordinate with.

Going back to what BeesNeeds said, so many factors have to be taken into account. It is a very frustrating process, especially if you forget to take scrupulous notes while searching and have a strict checklist of what you need. I initially look at bulb type and will only consider LED or LED adaptable, then diameter, max wattage, whether there is a reflective material for the interior, whether it is opaque with some transparency and/or upward openings, and if there is a diffuser. My island is black walnut and sucks up light so it is imperative I get this right. I chose a cluster of clear globes for over the dining table so that dictates that I need to continue with a globe shape or similar. Though they are glass, there are chrome embellishments. I've wanted glass pendants but the light will be ambient unless there is an interior fitting to reflect some of the light down. Most that I have found are very small or if the size is close they are very expensive.

What style and color family are you looking for? I think there are many of us that are having a difficult time with lighting and hope others chime in. I believe I have read every GW thread regarding lighting and have learned a lot, but maybe we should start a thread asking for examples of excellent pendant lighting.

For my 8.5 X 4 ft island, we used a single down-light fixture. It might be too modern for you, but it provides great task lighting, and does not obstruct any view lines. Its a little narrow for my island, yet the light's diffusers work, and the fixture does a remarkable job. Its one of the best priced modern LED fixtures I've found, but the only downside is that it does not dim. I realized, though, that the cans are for dimming, and the island lighting is to provide good bright light (so no need for a dimmer).

Here is a link that might be useful: 3-ring led fixture

juno, that's really cool!

bbtrix, I found another store for you and me- even more affordable. Really cool stuff! Here's an example I thought you might like:

Here is a link that might be useful: chrome pendant