Your island might be better off the other direction.

If you rotate your island you could just get a chandelier instead of individual pendants.

With a cathedral ceiling overhead do you really need lighting over your peninsula you are to create?

I don't understand exactly what you are doing...you are moving the island to make a peninsula in line with the 'fridge. That means you are attaching the island to the solid wall?

It might be a good candidate for track lighting.

Do you have a layout / floorplan of what you are proposing and how it relates to the different ceiling heights?

Tech Lighting Cable, wall mounted:

What about having a light come down from the super high ceiling do you not like? Is it the install process or do you not think it will look good?

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes we are thinking we’ll attach thr island to the wall making a peninsula and I’ve considered track lighting but the issue would be that the light source is begind the person working at the island.

I hadn’t even considered the simplest option of having no lights directly above the island but they may not be necessary after all and could aways be added later. The room with cathedral ceiling is lit well

I said track lighting but I was thinking of cable lighting like what Palimpsest showed.

Daisychain's suggestions seems like good options for mounting on the side of the beam as you were proposing.

If you move the island to create a peninsula on the left wall, you are then blocking the traffic flow through the kitchen forcing everyone to walk through the busy kitchen to get to the adjoining room (assuming a family room). Not a good idea.

How about lamps?

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Before I say anything, can you draw this proposition of the peninsula move so we can see how its going to be attached and where? Does this mean you are moving the plumbing as well? Im very confused I need an overhead view. Where does the fridge go?

Lamps are also a very interesting idea I hadn’t thought of And they could probably be incorporated later on if extra lighting is needed