Can you post a pic of the whole space and the area next to it. You do not want any light with fabric or wood in a kitchen IMO you need a hood for the cooktop so maybe look at one with lighting.

Is this helpful? Noted on the fabric. That’s an interesting point I hadn’t thought about. Thanks. Other option is to just remove the fan and patch up the ceiling. There’s a ton of high hat lighting anyway. I just thought it would be cool. There won’t be a hood for the cooktop. It has a pop up thingy for this reason—These ceilings are over 12 feet high, plus the skylight is an obstruction to even constructing that. a hood over this cooktop would awkwardly divide the space, I think.

I just don’t want a fixture w visible candlestick lights. Hate them. Just do. There’s got to be another way. Because these ceilings are so high another challenge is anything glass is going to collect a ton of dust and I don’t want to be on a high ladder dusting all the time.

Are you keeping those cabinets? That cabinet style does not work with a waterfall island.

I really thought long and hard about that and I don’t see why not. Just because they curve? With new gold knob hardware, my new good pull down faucet, and a new backsplash I don’t see how it wouldn’t. Everything in the house is becoming contemporary. Even more so if I add a contemporary light.

Just because something is always done one way doesn’t mean there’s no wiggle room!

Those cabinets are not contemporary. Raised panel of almost any type is traditional. That goes double with the arch. It's outside of "wiggle room" territory. The contemporary look of a waterfall will highlight the traditional look of the cabinets. Hopefully your cabinets are in excellent condition, so that the waterfall doesn't highlight the mismatch of old and new materials.

They ARE in excellent condition actually. Three GCs told me it’d be a shame to rip them out. While I came here to ask about my light, I’ll bite. I mean what is your suggestion, then? Just keep the Formica counters if I am not up for replacing the cabinets? That’s absurd. I do not believe my only option here is that or replace all of them just so I can have new counters. I’m 100 percent not concerned. I think it’ll look great, and I don’t believe in playing it safe.

My suggestion would be to replace the counters with a nice quartz or stone with a standard flat top on the island, not a waterfall, and look for good transitional lighting fixtures that help modernize the room while still blending well. But you clearly have a vision. I hope you love the result.

@mcarroll16 is correct. Throwing in a completely ultra modern element into your decades out of date cabinets, is waaaay beyond ”wiggle room”. It’s just not appropriate, and, quite frankly, will look silly. No amount of gold bling, (hardware and faucet), will contemporize your space, either.

Btw, in many jurisdictions that island would not be up to code.

Save your money until you can afford a complete renovation.