Our kitchen will have 3 mono-point pendants over our island, spaced 18 inches apart. I'm looking at a low-voltage LBL fixture that comes in either a 3.5 inch shade/35w or 5.75 inch shade/50w with xenon bi-pin bulb. I like the smaller size shade, as it would be less intrusive, but I'm concerned about the amount of light for task lighting on the island. On the other hand, I could always dim the 50w lamps if it seems too bright. We'll have recessed cans (LR6) as well, but they are in line with the edges of the counters, so no cans over the island.

I've tried to figure lumens with these bulbs, and the best I can tell is that the 35w produces 420 lumens, and the 50w produces 600 lumens (this gleaned from commercial websites selling similar replacement bulbs, I think!). The island is about 3.5x6 ft., or 21 sq. ft. Would the three 35w xenon bulbs suffice, or should I go with 50w?