I’m not sure why pendants wouldn’t work over an island. Even with a low ceiling, no one would bump their head unless they leaned way in. Not sure how low this ceiling is, but pendants are fine. I’d just make sure to get the scale right. Maybe you want clear glass. I personally don’t like to see bare bulbs, but the clear would give you more transparency. Regardless of the ceiling height, you want the lights to be about 30” from the top of the counter.

Just be aware that adding the pendants will visually lower the ceiling.

Thank you for your feedback! Susie, I asked a question to the "owner" of the photo you shared, just out of curiosity. Beverly, thanks for your input about the ceiling. Last thing we need to do is make the Lowe ceilings more noticeable...have a great day!

We have 7.5' ceilings and did 3 oversized pendants over our 8.5' island. I chose glass to avoid visually lowering the ceiling. These are the pendants (size large) https://www.potterybarn.com/products/pb-textured-glass-pendant-hood/?catalogId=84&sku=3564536&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Lighting%20%3E%20Pendants&cm_ite=3564536&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiYj4jaCq4AIVDI7ICh3LqQOvEAQYAiABEgLPh_D_BwE

Not the best photos but all I have right now...

Kim, your ceilings are 96", not 90". That 6" makes a difference. These days, the pendants that you are using wouldn't be considered "large" either. Not when you have people putting in 30" wide foyer pendants in kitchens.

The best option for shorter ceilings is often a semi flush fixture. But be very careful that you don't create more lighting problems than you are trying to fix here. Shadows and glare are often the result when placement or bulb tile isn't really thought through.

I just measured - my ceilings are 92"... so just 2" more than 7.5'.

Kim K - thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question! Your kitchen looks amazing, by the way. My island is 74", so thats 2+ feet shorter than yours. I'm sure there's some pendant lighting/spacing equation somewhere out there online. Thank you again for your info!

Live_wire_oak - thank you for your info as well. I will definitely take it into consideration :)

So what you choose i am in exact same situation?

Hi! Unfortunately, I didn’t end up using pendants. I stuck with recessed lighting but had I gone that direction, I think the info from the designers above would’ve applied nicely to the space. Best of luck!