Hi Bob I would space them closer together than that, somewhere in the range of 15" - 18" from the ends of the island. (ie 38" - 44" OC from each other). If they are too far away from each other they will not feel "connected" and give the impression one is missing. Alternatively, if you chose a more slender fixture three would look best, as it usually does! Steve

It's really a matter of preference; the benefit of doing three pendants is that odd numbers are visually more appealing, and you could use smaller, typically more budget-friendly options. The benefit of doing two larger pendants is that you can create a more dramatic vocal point in the space. You ought to be able to get a similar amount and flood of light from either option, it just depends on what fixture you select. I would say if you go with three pendants, stay around 6-8" wide, and because you have such tall ceiling, something that also has some visual height to it, like a decorative metal element over the glass. If you go with the two pendants, I would look at something more in the 9-12" range for width, but also keeping visual height a consideration. Here are a few options I would suggest:

#2 - Balance the lighting accordingly onto the work area of the countertop. If centering between skylights off balances the light projected it will be odd when using the island.

Hi Sharon! Based on the advice about pendant sizing in our light sizing guide, you should be fine. That advice is to subtract 12 from the width of your island in inches--which is 36 in your case--to find the maximum width or diameter for a light to go over it. Your max is 24, so your 13-inch diameter lights should be just fine! Let me know if you have further questions.