I think the "one" . If you have the 3 pendants chosen go ahead and coordinate a bit. same finish? similar or coordinating shape? but different size ...etc.

@Ney A this is a big issue for my husband especially. He really wishes we had more light above the sink. I like the idea of recessed lighting there, and I would rather have three small recessed lights or one larger one. Let the pendants over the island be the show grabbers, but have really good work lighting at the sink.

Recessed would be my choice

I'm trying to find pictures of diff example you've mentioned to give you an idea.

you say 'no tile' ? you're not doing a backsplash?

so here's your window/island for ref

I'm guessing the cabinet placement around the sink will look something like this? there is no tile around this window either.

ignore the stove placement. here's your island, 3 pendants, window w/cabs on each side and recessed lighting.

another one. no tile. recessed light, island w/3. cabs on both sides.

again, like your layout. glass front cabs on left, no tile around window, they chose to do these 4 canned lights.

if it was mine, I would have done it like this. tile all the way up, a sconce, and a no cabs on left w/a sconce

since you have a larger window and what appears to be ample storage, I'd be inclined to lose the cab on the right or left, poss do a few shelves. personally I like tile, all the way up

you see how to the right of the window there are no cabs, only shelving that ties into the cabs on the other wall? sconce over those shelves are nice. you'd do a recessed over the sink

another style w/the shelves. 2 sconces over window

I like the L shelving that wraps the corner.

What about shelves on the left? Ignore the country look here. just look at the window w/a sconce, and the open style to the left. the cabs on the right are still there (I like the addition of the glass fronts)

if it was mine, I'd do shelving something like this, w/beautiful tile and sconces above the shelves.

Or, something like this:

Have you thought about doing pendants over the sink?

doesn't have to be 3 (they don't have any cabinets here so multiples are fine)

although, I like it like this too

here's another plain window w/cabs on either side and an island w/pendants. To me, this is blah

to me, this looks much better.

these cabs are stunning

other examples.

Thanks for these inspo pics!! We're doing a backsplash in the kitchen, just not in the portion above the window. And we've finalized our cabinets layout, so we'll have to work w/ this layout.

What are your thoughts on doing 2 sconces (1 on the left window and 1 on the right) and a single recessed light above the sink?

OR... forego the sconces and just do a single recessed light above the sink - do you think that area above the window would look too bare?

I love the 3 sconces look (1 above each window), but I feel like it would clash with the 3 pendants over the island and look too busy.

Here's another angle of the kitchen:

Another option perhaps is can lights plus sconces on the side of the cabinets. Personal preference, but I rarely use the can lights in our house. I think they're too harsh for everyday, but the glow of a lamp or sconce is so nice. If you put the island pendants, sink sconces, and can lights all on dimmers and all on separate switches, you'll have options. Do you like to leave a kitchen light on at night? I dim my sink sconces and leave them on.

@stiley I really like your sconce concept and will remember it for our space over the kitchen sink and between two windows. I try to de-industrialize a kitchen but was heading towards hermit in the woods. The sconces with soft shades brings in the flavor of refined living room instead. Thanks!

I'd do the recessed. I have recessed over my three window sink and it's super bright, even for a friend who has low vision. For your area, I would do more than one. You can always put them on a dimmer if multiples are too bright certain times of the day.

My personal concern with sconces is the idea of taste change. The look of sconces in the kitchen is beautiful right now but I feel it's a bit of a "look." It's a good look, but will you love it in five, eight years? If not, then what to do with the holes in the wall? Maybe change out the sconces but if you get quality ones, multiply the cost by three it gets pricey especially if they are coordinated with the island pendants, who has time to swap them out, on and on it goes. Well done recessed lights fade into the design and don't have that issue. I would put the money in to killer pendants over the island. Then if your tastes change and you want to swap them out, it's not as big a deal. And I agree with your assessment that sconces and pendants will begin to look a bit busy. Give the eye a place to land and make that the island pendants.

I think a linear sconce would be nice above the window. Instead of having 3 individual sconces, you can have 1 linear sconce. Perhaps, you may want to take a look at some of our sconce designs specifically the tamar wand which is a linear hand blown glass. https://shakuff.com/products/tamar-wand-sconce

Are you working with a designer? Mine has been very helpful with lighting choices, along with the person at the lighting store we're using.

I will also have a long island, and chose a big linear chandelier rather than pendants (mostly because I fell in love with one); so you could consider a single linear instead of multiple pendants. Either way, I would agree with above to let the island lights be the star and get some recessed lights, on dimmers, above the window. I might consider a pendant over the sink, but only if I did a single light over the island and the two coordinated. (But I'm not a pro.)

Gorgeous window by the way! Your kitchen will be smashing!

ETA: in the photos it looks like the island might be centered on the window, but in the overhead drawing the sink is offset from the island. That to me makes a vote for recessed over the sink.

Not working with a designer unfortunately, just relying on ourselves here... and Houzz!

@tozmo1 and @chicagoans - if we were to forego the sconces, how many recessed lights would you do above the sink area? Our builder recommended one directly over the sink.

Ney, there is no right or wrong answer. It's whatever design you prefer. Have no idea what style your kitchen is going to be, so maybe wait until things get underway? you could always have the electrical run to the spot above the window just in case. But until you get some design and style locked down, I think you can wait on the lights over the window.

Sconces? depends if you're doing cabs on either side and how much room will between them and the window. That's why I mentioned , and showed pics, of some shelving on either side.

If you want the sconces above the windows, make sure to measure carefully. Some of the photos shown have higher ceilings and more space above the windows. Make sure to account for drywall and any trim/crown you might add.

If you go with recessed, you need more than one, because you are going to do a lot of stuff on either side of the sink and not just over the middle of the sink.

I have three recessed lights over my sink and 9 more in the main area. I love having more light and nothing to clean. Glass covered fixtures are just more work (I have glass pendants in the master bathroom and they get dusty very quickly). This sink is open to our great room.

Ney, I have three puck lights but they are much smaller than cans. Not sure how the light generated compares. Are you able to go to a local lighting store in your area to shop for pendants? If so, I find the sales staff who work at locally owned, not big box, lighting stores are very, very knowledgeable about how much light you'll need and they are very good at finding pendants/sconces/etc. at all price points and often suggest things you never would have thought of but look great. And they always, in my experience, price match to online vendors for the same item. So if you have access to a local lighting store, check it out.

Here's my kitchen window. I also have skylights so that gives a lot of light in the daytime.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!