In my kitchen I have recessed lighting cans above the island. I also have under cabinet lighting. Both came with the house. I love using the under cabinet lighting at night but use the recessed lighting when using the island; that's where I prepare food and do my baking (rolling out doughs, etc.) I don't see any brands on the light fixtures. Sorry...

Linda P

Hi Trudymom,

It's been about 18 months since we re-did our kitchen and I've been loving every second of cooking in it. I designed it specifically with cooking in mind, after 12 years of cooking in a user hostile kitchen.

My work area is U shaped & pretty small in comparision to some of the gorgeous kitchens on the kitchen forum. Lighting in the work area is a combo of recessed cans, xenon undercabinet lights and 3 halogen pendants over a 6 1/2' peninsula. I also have halogen lights in the hood which I LOVE! I call them my interrogation lights but I can now actually see things carmelizing or watch a roux darkening. The hood is also something that the old kitchen didn't have & I'm delighted with it.

The only thing I regret is not having a window in the work area but there was no place to put it. I don't need the ventilation but I miss the natural light.

I've found that I use the undercab lightning more than I thought. Extra great for when I have a cookbook that I'm working from. I use the pendants more for mood than for actual work but they are very handy if we've got a big feed going on after dark & need the peninsula well lit.
The undercabs are fixtures rather than pucks and they provide a nice, even light and low profile. They're by CSL (either Counter Attack or Mach 120). I really like them.

Hope this helps you somewhat.

Nina

I've only got a second, but here you go-
I have lots of 6" cans I'll count just how many when I go downstairs but they are set up on 3 light switches so we don't have to have them all on when the weather is warm. I have two pendants over the island and Kichler undercabinet lighting (separate rheostat)one light over the sink on it's own switch (I should have put that on the switch with others- it's best on and a pain to remember to turn off separately). I also have a covered outlet on the ceiling over the table should I want a fan later on.
I know it sounds like over kill, but we really do use all of them at night of if the weather is gloomy. The trick is to have 4 gang light switches so you have the option to turn them all on and off from one or two places.

BTW, in our newest bathroom remodel we used 4 inch cans because we wanted less heat and to be "in style". Bad move on our parts. We ended up changing the two lights over our sinks to 6 inches, the 4's just didn't throw a broad enough light. Same in our bedroom, love the look, but could have used broader beams.

We have 6 inch cans, fixtures, lights on hood, and under the counnter halogen lights.

I have a combination of recessed cans--6 large and 2 small over the sink, halogen hood light, xenon undercabinet lights and over my peninsula is a track with 5 halogen mini spots.

I always prep on the peninsula, so use the halogen spots every day. Ditto the hood light. I almost never use the undercabinet lights, which I thought I desperately needed from working in previously poor lighting conditions.

Trudy, I have it all, and really recommend putting as much lighting in your kitchen as the budget will bear. We have lots of north/east facing natural light since we went with windows instead of cabinets. Over the island we have three pendants, and the recessed lighting (around the island) is on the perimeter corners to light the walkways/counters when extra light is needed. (We always use these when cleaning the floors.) There are cans over all the task areas (like the beverage/range/dishwashing counters) that I use often. There is also an antique swing-arm bridge lamp with a lampshade that swings overhead in the aisle from the range to the prep sink, which is always on in addition to a couple of table lamps on my counters.

I added rope lighting and pucks in two glass cabinets that are on dimmers, which I use every night as ambient night light. (I liked these so much I even added them to our built-in china cupboards in the dining room.) There's a puck light shining on an art tile in my backsplash over the range. It's a subtle kind of light, but when these aren't on, there's something missing in the room! Even during the day, my rooms have dark spots which the light helps alleviate, and I love the warm glow that's added by these small feature lights.

I thought in the beginning my ''excess'' of lighting was most probably overkill, but have to say that it all has its place for certain things. One thing I've noticed in the four years we've had our kitchen (I can't believe it's been that long!) is we are needing more light as our eyes age. I'm using lights now that I didn't really need then, so in this case...more is better! I use them all, and if I had to choose, there's not one I would do without.

I have nine 6" cans that are placed on the rafters within the ceiling, so they are in straight lines. I think it might have been better to place them so that the light "washes" down over the front of the cabs. At any rate, they provide plenty of light and are on a dimmer.

I have a pendant over the sink. It was not there originally and I found I was washing dishes in my own shadow. It made a huge difference. I also have xenon lighting under the cabinets and I have them on all the time.

I also could not live without the light that is under my OTR Micro. I especially like that it is on a timer. I have it set so there is a light on when I get home from work in the winter.

I don't have a pendant over my table and am thinking of getting one. The overheads provide plenty of light for the table but not the warmth and "intimacy" (for lack of a better word) that a hanging fixture provides.

Good luck with your project.

Trudy : I Remodeled Kitchens for years and
would suggest putting in as many lights as possible, where ever you can.

You may not use all of them at once but they are there if you need them.

It is a lot harder once everything is finished. To install wiring.
I know. I did a boo boo in my own Kitchen.

We don't know your kitchen Layout, so it would be up to you,
to decide physically, what your needs will be.

I have a small U shaped Kitchen, a little larger than the one I moved from.
We did a lot of BIG meals there, so I thought a little larger would be OK.

I have a Ceiling Fan with a light. That helped to clear out Smoke a few times.

I don't like to travel too far, when cooking.
The only problem is,in an Italian Home, on Holidays, Everybody is in the Kitchen.
LOU

I like having rope lights on top of the cabinets also. It's nice ambient lighting.

kitchen is in the middle of the house with no outside walls or windows. Other than fluorescent & incandescent lights in the room, my favorite right now is the awsome Solatube just put in the open beam ceiling. It is so bright day times I have to catch myself from trying to turn off the light switch ... no switch- just free sunlight reflected from that 14 inch Solatube!

Here is my kitchen plan if any of you have suggestions as for lighting. The 4'x7' island is in the middle. The architect has 2 pendants (I do have 3 available pendants if you think there should be 3) in it with 4 cans within 8" of the edges.

Thank you!

To me, four cans won't be quite enough. I'd want to have lights over the stove, the sink, the ovens and the refrigerator (never know when the little light's going to go) and some extras. Also a light inside the pantry. I'm a big fan of LOTS of light. If they're wired separately or in pairs you don't have to have all of them on if you don't want, but if you do want it's hard to add on afterwards.
Also make sure you have plenty of plug outlets for appliances, particularly over the counter area. They're another thing you don't have to use, but it's hard to add on after.

I agree put in as much as you can. We have 16 6 in. cans on 4 different switches, with dimmers, so I can light up everything or just one side or just the middle. Also have 1 pendent over DH's sink and 2 over my sink. One bigger light over the table in the middle of the kitchen. The hood has 2 halogen lights plus we put in a solartube opposite the window wall. Everyone told us it was overkill but in the dark of winter I can light up the kitchen like we are outside in the summer. LOL. Almost all are double switched with the bank of main switches to the right of my sink above the trash pull out cabinet.

The placement of the lighting was one of the hardest thing we did in this remodel. I measured and moved the cans for days before the drywall went up. It was worth it in the end just remember to have the middle of the cans out about 10 in. form the upper cabinets, plus molding, so they shine down on the counter without any shadows. It was hard because one side of the kitchen has 30in.base cabinets and the other side has standard 24in. but with a bump out for Dh's sink and some of my upper cabinets are 14in. deep.

Claudia

No can lights here, but I do have strip lights over all working surfaces. My rule is very simple: If will be cutting/choping/cooking there it needs a light. I value my fingures and I hate to clean up blood.

I also have awalk in pantr, and I want to find what I am looking for fast, so I hav 3 lights in there.

You can always turn a light off, but if it is not there, you can't turn it on.

Lots of good advise here. I have a kitchen that is not lighted well, we did not really think about it when the house was built. I second what Claudia said. Imagine yourself standing in various places doing prep work, washing dishes, etc and light it up, really light it up. If you put the different sections on separate switches you can just turn on the extra light when you need it.

Our people suggested only six and two pendants to begin with. I walked down the street to my neighbor's who had 16 cans. We thought that was overkill in our kitchen, but we have 9 cans in the kitchen area and 4 in the eating area on the other side of the island. I regret not adding a few more! Just group them on different switches for your lighting comfort.
I agree 100% about Solartubes. Unfortunately we've got a second story so downstairs they're not an option.