Would love some input or ideas! We have a structural beam running parallel above our 76" long x 47"wide island. The beam drops 14" from our ceiling so the bottom is 7' above the floor and 48" above our island counter. The beam is almost centered over the island, but is a bit closer to the "kitchen" side - the other side is seating and leads into a dining/seating room.

We need more lighting over the island and installing recessed lighting into the beam is not an option, but pendants are. Can lights in the ceiling won't work because the beam is so tall, the light wouldn't really make it to the "other side" of the island because of the shadow, if that makes sense (and we only have the option to do can lights on one side of the beam). So, in-beam hanging lights it is, assuming I can make it work design-wise.

I'd love to do some pendants but I'm lost on what size/width given the need for a shorter than normal cord. We're a tall family too (hubby is 6'4"), so it can't hang down too low. To install it the recommended 30-40" above the counter, I only have a max of 18" to work with. Style-wise, I love the seeded glass round pendants, or the milk-glass schoolhouse pendants (though I'm not sure whether either of those will provide enough task lighting?)

Thoughts??? Ideas, or some creative solution I haven't thought of? Would it be weird to just hang them from the ceiling closer to the seating, even though they would be just a couple of inches at most from the beam? Are there awesome flush-mount options I'm overlooking? Thank!